


Rebound

by Moonrose001



Series: Secret chord [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Ace Shiro, Allura and Coran visit Earth, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Divergent after S2, Fluff, Government Experimentation, Lance comes home, M/M, Merperson Lance (Voltron), Reunions, Socially Awkward Keith (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2018-06-28
Packaged: 2018-11-23 20:05:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 33,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11409273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonrose001/pseuds/Moonrose001
Summary: After over a year in space, the Paladins are finally allowed to visit their home planet for a week. Lance is excited to finally see his family again, and having his family meet his boyfriends.But it's never that easy. Keith has been rather distant lately, clips of autopsies on something that looked a little too much like a Mer are showing up on the internet, and Lance's doesn't know if his twin, Lola, will come out unscathed if he leaves Earth again.





	1. Tingles

**Author's Note:**

> And the first chapter is out much quicker than I anticipated. I don't know how often I'll be able to update, since i've got two jobs ATM, and my beta is doing a Shiro Thing. But as always, kudos to her for an amazing job, and I hope you'll enjoy!

Lance is swimming in the pool in the Castle. It’s a far cry from the wholesome naturalness of a real beach. The most unsettling thing about swimming in pools was that there was almost no sound. Only the the buzzing of a filter and air pump. The pool is bigger and deeper than a standard 3-star hotel pool, but it still feels claustrophobic. It helps that it’s neither an oval or geometric pool; the fact that it has a funny shape makes it feel a little less artificial. It starts in a small square, narrowing into a tunnel that leads into an even smaller circle, which funnels into a darker depth at least 120 feet deep. Like the aquatic healing pod, it’s made for a temporary stay for aliens that lived in water. For now he pretends not to notice too much every time he has to take a turn, because the walls keep being closer than he expects.

He really spoiled himself on Birkne. He had begun swimming more in the water than he had allowed himself to on any of the other water planets, and especially once his secret had come out. He had come to spend the whole day in the water, even with his teammates. When he was in the water, with the team smiling around him, he had almost felt like he was home.

The ceilings lights in the pool room are turned off, as well as most of the pool lights in the front. He picks at his tail, looking for loosening scales. They didn’t normally fall off, but the training on Birkne had been hard, and he had lost around seven, to his great outrage. He hasn’t stopped checking since.

Soon, he hears the sound of heavy steps. Heavier than even Shiro’s. Lance swallows nervously, and swims to the bottom of the round part of the pool. He isn’t really sure what to do, so he stays at the bottom to think more about it and also hide himself from the stranger. If the stranger would come looking for him, he’d have to come uncomfortably close to the edge to see Lance.

He waits patiently as he hears the footsteps come closer, hesitant and wary. Not to be fooled easily. Like Keith often did in their exercises, they knew that something was wrong; that something was lurking.

It’s weird for Lance to think of himself that way: like a predator. Whenever he thought about himself as a Mythical Creature, he preferred to think of himself as an alluring, seductive merman, winking at sailors from a beautiful blue lagoon. But mostly he just felt like the human version of a dolphin. He was a mammal; he caught fish, played, was inappropriately curious and that was that.

His twin Lola, however, had inherited the deep-water mer - gene. If she missed a day of sun on the beach, her skin color would quickly fade into the almost sickly pallor the deep-water merpeople had. Besides that she had The Face.

Lance twitches as a shadow is finally thrown onto the water’s surface. He twitches and predictably the person sees it, and grabs their weapon. Lance swims up from the darkness. Just high up enough that his bright eyes can be seen up top . He knows he’s been spotted.

Lance strikes, holding their gaze as he quickly swims to the surface, intensifying the stare until he’s at the surface.

Predictably the stranger just watches him. Their hand is twitching on the handle of a dagger. Lance breaks the surface, and swims closer. They don’t move. They could be immune to the hypnotizing stare, and are only freezing, or they’re pretending to be under the influence, which was unlikely.

Or they actually are under the influence. There’s only one way to check.

He sings the first line. The stranger flinches. It was having an effect. He sings the second, and they grunt, but don’t move. He keeps singing softly as he swims closer. They grunt even louder, which means they just realized they’re unable to move. Lance reaches out and grabs the person by the ankles. He wills the person to kneel as he maintains eye contact. The man closes his eyes, but Lance has practiced this enough to know that if he sings his notes high enough, so high most humans didn’t even hear it, his grip would stay strong, even on the stranger.

This person clearly has a stronger willpower than Lance anticipated though, and despite their body freezing, they seem to be well aware that they’re being hypnotized. Lance only needs that one second to win. That one moment where the person would loosen up, submit.

But time is passing fast, and this could either go two ways: the person would fall deeper into their trance or their resistance would increase. Lance couldn’t risk the latter. Should he act now?

Or shouldn’t he? If the person is ready for action the second Lance’s voice wavers, Lance would barely have time to drown him, before they’d draw their dagger and probably stab him to death. And Lance was too young for that. Too happy. His hands grow tighter around the person’s ankles. The first verse of the song had always been his. The second is Amador’s, his older brother, and the fourth is Sabrina’s, his cousin. It was a song they always sung together, since they were very small and their parents had wanted them to practice their singing.

The third verse of the song had always been Lola’s, and reaching that part of the song, forcing himself to sing her words, feels like a violation to her memory. He does so anyway, and he watches the stranger’s gloved hands loosen. He reaches the end of the song, his voice almost breaking from the high notes by the end of it.

_ There. _

Lance pulls at the ankles with all of his might, the person being heavy as fuck. The person’s eyes fly wide open as he falls down onto his back and is dragged into the water, the weight of the steel of his weapons quickly weighing him down. Taking advantage of their shock, Lance wraps his arms around the person’s back, swimming hard towards the bottom for seconds that feels like hours, before the person is abruptly breaking out of his daze and drawing his weapon. Lance wraps his strong tail around the man’s legs, ripping the dagger out of the person’s hand and dropping it. The person hasn’t yelled or scream and thus wasted their air, which only shows how much experience they have in keeping their cool compared to others.

The person knocks an elbow into Lance’s stomach, but this form’s tissue is already tightly compressed, and what would’ve knocked him off his feet as a human could barely be felt in this body. He jabs them in the throat, the only place the person isn’t heavily armored. They flinch as Lance pulls at their mask, which clicks off surprisingly easy, just as the person retrieves another knife, and he surges forwards and presses air into the person’s hairy mouth. They immediately turn away their head, but gills should be starting to appear on their neck, and for the first time the person actually sees Lance without their mask.

Lance grins as the person’s face turns absolutely murderous, and he immediately lets go of the person, trying to swim away in glee but failing when the person grabs him around the narrowest part of his tail. It’s not funny anymore as Lance is dragged back, and realizes that he, despite doing what he was just supposed to, has just given the person the ability to breathe underwater, which means there will be no slowing down or desperation on their part, making them a greater fighter in the water than they should’ve been.

Lance furtively tries to get loose, but they’re looking for revenge now, and Lance has to curve back to bite the person on their upper arm, where their armor doesn’t cover very well, before he can escape. He quickly swims to the surface and pulls himself up on the edge. Transforming is awkward when also trying to roll away, but when he’s gotten legs, he grabs his robe and runs.

In the pool, Kolivan rises to the surface with a growl. Lance squeals with laughter all the way down to the bridge.

\-----

Lance has just enough time to hide behind his Ultimate Defense Squad (Shiro and Hunk), and his counter-attackers are ready (Pidge, Keith and Allura), when a dripping wet Kolivan barges into the Bridge. Lance is giggling hysterically and whispers “I’m the best, I got his ass!” which probably doesn’t help on Kolivan’s mood.

“What,” Kolivan growls and points an accusing finger at Lance, who can’t contain his laughter, “is that?”

“A rare species of shapeshifters,” Allura pleasantly answers. Her face is neutral, but Lance knows that on the inside she’s cackling. While they had looked for Shiro, Kolivan and Allura had gotten some sort of contest going on about who had the most useful team; a contest that Allura, without Shiro, had lost time and time again (god, it took the five of them just to  _ stall  _ Ulaz). While Hunk was a fighter and formidable mechanic, he was still new with his canon and hand-to-hand combat; while Pidge was nimble and agile, they got lost in their own head when presented with new knowledge, be it science or their lost family; while Keith was clearly the best fighter of the four, he was also a hothead and though he had gotten better at not completely disregarding the team and listening to their concerns in the short period of time he was their leader, he could go rogue if he was convinced he was right; and well, while Lance’s skill with his rifle was absolutely amazing and always left their enemies in awe of his awesomeness, he wasn’t that good with hand-to-hand (or as Pidge said “as soon as someone grabs you, you squeal like a little bitch”).

So to say that Allura looked pleased at Kolivan being wet would be an understatement. 

“Their song is known to enthrall even the most enduring sailors on their planet,” she keeps explaining. “We’ve been training him to apply this skills on the Galra. As far as I understand the situation, he was successful.”

Eh, probably not  _ that _ accurate, as much as Lance would like it to be. Kolivan had been close to stabbing him several times. It was only because of the sheer surprise of the attack, and Kolivan not being as good in water as he was on land, that Lance had succeeded at all. But hey, if the Princess wanted to brag about his achievement, he would let her and even preen a little bit.

He grins cockily at the leader.

Kolivan growls, and wipes water away from his furry face. Having the water stick to all that hair must suck.

“Sorry, man,” Lance says, not sorry at all. “Princess’ orders.”

##  **Two weeks before**

Lance glides his fingers down Keith’s back. It’s loose in relaxation, yet hard with muscle mass; Lance’s aunt, Sofia, who’s been a sculptor for most of her life, would’ve keened and wow’ed if she had ever seen Keith’s back.

Or well. She will. If everything went according to plan, which, let’s face it, rarely did.

Lance gets up on an elbow, and presses a kiss into Keith’s nearest shoulder blade. Keith hums. Lance draws circles on the back of his neck.

When this doesn’t get Keith’s attention, Lance decides to just poke him.

“What,” Keith says.

Lance pokes again.

“ _ What _ ,” Keith growls. 

“What are we going to do about him?” Lance whispers, and it makes Keith turn his face to sleepily look at their bedmate. Shiro is lightly snoring, his breathing deep and slow.

“What about him?” Keith asks, clearly not seeing the relevance of Lance’s question.

“He freaked out yesterday, remember,” Lance replies and jabs Keith for speaking too loudly. “How are we going to bring it up?”

“I don’t know,” Keith whispers back.

“I bought us time, so clearly you should be making up how we handle this,” Lance insists.

Shiro’s snores stop, and they both turn their head to look at him in alarm.

Shiro frowns for a microsecond, before exhaling harshly, and turning to throw his arm over the edge of the bed. They really had to figure out something with the bed. It couldn’t be healthy for Shiro to practically have two people lying on top of him all night because the bed was too narrow.

After a minute Shiro starts snoring softly again.

“We’ll go over what happened, and ask what triggered him,” Keith whispers. “The stimulation was probably too much for him. A lot of his scar tissue is sensitive.”

This is news to Lance, and he lifts his head. “And nobody thought about telling me that?”

“The two of us agreed that you would suck his dick, and there’s no scar tissue there,” Keith says, leering, and Lance has to slap his arm.

Keith’s smile fades, and he sighs. “I probably should’ve. I forgot you probably didn’t know.”

Accepting the reason, Lance rests his head against Keith’s arm and looks at Shiro.

Despite the ending of the past evening, Lance can’t help but still feel warm inside with the intimacy of it. He had never felt so close to anybody he’s ever slept with. They knew who he was, knew what he was. They trusted him, and he trusted them.

He sits up on an elbow, and leans down to kiss Keith’s mouth. Keith’s nose only wrinkles slightly at the taste of morning breath but he accepts the kiss. The kiss is slow, but with open lips, and Lance could just kiss him forever.

“What did you think? About last night?” Lance whispers, once he’s pulled back. “You liked it?”

“Yeah.” Keith smiles back. “It was great. It wasn’t as nerve-wrecking as I thought it would be.”

Lance grins. “You were nervous about having sex with us?”

Keith starts to blush a little bit. “I was nervous about having sex, yeah.”

Lance blinks. “Having sex as in… the act of sex.”

“Yes.”

“Not with us?”

“No, I trust you two.”

Lance stares at him. “Keith. Was this your first time?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“WHAT.”

Shiro flinches awake at Lance’s exclamation, and looks at them in sleepy confusion, his eyes scanning the room, metal hand becoming a fist, before he determines that there’s not threat and looks back at them.

“Why are you shouting?” he yawns and falls back on his back. Lance immediately feels bad, but he has to tell him.

“Keith is a virgin!” Lance tells him.

“Could you keep your voice down?” Keith hisses.

“But how?!” Lance asks, staring at Keith’s body. His cock is shorter than Lance’s, but a lot thicker. He then looks back up at Keith’s, Lance must admit, beautiful as hell face. “How?” he whispers in outrage.

Keith scowls at him. “I lived most of my teenage life in a shack in a desert, remember? Not exactly the best place to make friends.”

This just breaks Lance’s heart, and he doesn’t know whether to kiss Keith and give him the best blowjob ever, or if he should actually do what he should and talk about it.

“Oh,” Shiro says.

“Your first sexual act as a virgin was a rim job,” Lance says in awe.

“That’s so embarrassing,” Shiro antagonizes.

“That’s so sexy, babe,” Lance purrs.

“Babe?” Keith repeats.

“Mhm,” Lance hums, and leans over to kiss Keith again. Keith puts up with it for a while, before determinedly pulling back, repeating, this time sharper: “ _ Babe _ ?”

“Babe,” Lance says with finality, and leans over Keith’s face to kiss Shiro. He kisses back hesitantly, and Keith grumbles as he receives Lance’s elbow in his face. Never mind. His mullet will protect him.

But, Lance’s kiss sadly doesn’t distract Shiro’s upcoming self-doubt. “Yesterday was your first time, and I…” he starts.

Lance lies back down. He knows Keith wouldn’t ever dream of blaming Shiro for what happened yesterday, but it’s not Lance’s issue to settle.

“Stop that thought,” Keith says, and rolls on top of Shiro. “It was nice. I loved it. I’m glad it was you.”

Shiro exhales, and Keith puts his hand on his cheek, smiling gently at him, before leaning in to kiss him.

Gorgeous. Beautiful. Goddamn, Lance is so wonderfully intrigued by the two. He hit jackpot, alright. Lola would be so jealous if she knew.

Keith and Shiro continue to kiss for a while, Shiro’s organic hand in between Keith’s shoulder blades. Lance watches them in contentment for a while, before he gets up and grabs a towel in Shiro’s closet, and walking into his shower, where he finds out that Shiro has a shower stool. Why didn’t Lance have shower stool? Or Hunk? That clearly wasn’t fair. Lance would be having words with the Princess.

As he turns on the water, and lifts the lid on the toilet to take a leak, he realizes he didn’t bring his skincare, not having expected to sleep over. He bites his lip and contemplates his options for a little bit. Did he have time to grab his stuff from his room? Did he even have time for a shower? Maybe Shiro and Keith would get it started in there, and Lance didn’t want to miss out. Not to mention he didn’t want to miss The Talk which surely would be coming when Keith found his tongue at the end of Shiro’s throat. He sighs, washes his hands and quickly peeks into the bedroom. Keith might be a virgin, but his hands wander in a natural sureness that says otherwise.

A shower would take five minutes, and it’s unlikely they’d have sex, considering Shiro’s hesitance. Lance determinedly hops into the shower. He could just not wash his face, and save it for later when he had his face cleanser at hand. He really couldn’t afford to skip out. His skin had been full of dry patches and blemishes at the end of his “Being Brainwashed by an Alien Whale”-trip, and he had been working hard to regain elasticity and softness.

Lance grabs Shiro’s toothpaste, quickly checking if Shiro’s toothpaste was better than his too, but it seemed to be the same. Putting some on his finger, he rubs the inside of his mouth with it as well as he can, as the water falls down his back. He din’t need brushed teeth, just to get rid of his morning breath. He quickly washes his body, mourning that he still hasn’t gotten a hold of a good enough lotion yet. He steps out of the shower and is about to turn off the water, when Keith opens the door to the bathroom.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he smirks at Lance, as he hops into the water. Immediately he jumps back, almost slipping on the tiles, before Lance grabs him.

“The water is freezing!” Keith exclaims as Shiro enters the bathroom too. They’re both fully nude, and Lance doesn’t know how much they would tolerate him groping them, but he wants to so bad. Shiro’s chest is again something aunt Sofia would die to have as a model, his prosthesis starting right underneath his armpit, and his scars which cover him like a lattice are more a characteristic of his being than actually off-putting. His hips are narrow and hip bones prominent, but as he turns to take his toothpaste, his butt cheeks are round and firm, the back of his thighs and shins a soft curve of muscle. His cock is uncircumcised, long and thick, and Lance has to look away, only to land his eyes back on Keith, who has noticed Lance’s stare, and whose eyebrow is nearing his hairline. Keith isn’t as thickly built as Shiro, but his thighs. His  _ thighs _ . While the upper part has a nice amount of muscle, his height and narrow shoulders make him look almost boyish. His legs, though, are all thick muscles, and from what Lance noticed last night, his ass cheeks are even bigger and rounder than Shiro’s.

Lance looks up again, and Keith is looking very unimpressed.

“Are you done?” he asks.

Lance blushes, but he can’t help but grin. “Would you mind turning around?”

Keith rolls his eyes, but actually turns around. Is this boyfriend privileges or something? Either way it’s great.

Keith’s ass is just as Lance remembered, but now Lance notices that it has a vague upside down heart-shape.

Keith looks over his shoulder, smirking slightly, his lips red and a little swollen with the kissing he and Shiro had been doing. Lance smiles, and drapes himself over Keith’s backside.

“I can tell we’re in space,” Lance says, “because your ass is out of this world.”

Keith groans. “You ruined it.”  

“Shiro,” Lance says and Shiro turns his head, his toothbrush in his mouth and foam all over his lips. “Are you a freedom fighter? Because you’re so hot that if you went to Thu, you would cause a meltdown and all the merpeople could finally be free.”

Shiro cringes, and that means the pickup line worked.

“Alright, hot shot, make the water hotter,” Keith says.

Lance blinks and grins, before exaggeratedly leaning towards the thermostat, making sure to arch his back and give them an eyeful of his ass. He almost slips in surprise as a hand slaps down on a cheek and he hears both of them giggle behind him. He adjusts the heat, before straightening and pulling Keith down under the spray. Keith kisses him underneath the spray, his hands gliding down Lance’s sides to stop and clench on his ass. Sadly, no human is perfect, and the only thing that wasn’t perfect about Lance’s body was his ass. Not that it was a bad looking ass, because no such thing existed, but it had a boring square shape, and the fatness of the cheeks was nothing to write home about. The good thing about it though was that it was tiny, so most dicks would look big if entering it, which would probably get at least a few people off, not that Lance has tried being entered yet.

Lance’s hands glide down Keith’s chest, cupping their square puffy shape slightly, before turning to Shiro, who is watching them with something a little too tense to be contentment.

“Why don’t you come and join us, big boy?” Lance asks.

“Uh, can we all fit?” Shiro asks, looking at the big shower head in the ceiling.

“Doesn’t matter,” Keith says, and pulls Shiro in. Immediately Lance and he both close in on him, and Shiro twitches, before stepping out from between them.

“We know how that ended last time, fellas,” he says with a nervous smile.

Keith blushes at the thought, his eyes quickly falling down to look down at Shiro’s bottom, that  _ pervert _ , but then he looks at Lance, panicked, and Lance remembers that Keith can’t always people.

“I still wanna wash your hair,” Lance says, putting an arm into Shiro’s. He grabs the shower stool, and settles the older man down. As soon as the hair is wet, Lance grabs the shampoo and rubs into Shiro’s scalp, massaging in gentle circles like his dog at home, Sabor, had loved. Shiro doesn’t take the bait and doesn’t relax, but at least he tries to.

“So exactly what happened yesterday?”

And there we go, Shiro is tensing again, but he tries. “It just… became too much. I mean. I am sensitive to touch in general, but no one ever touched me where Keith touched me yesterday. I was more sensitive … there than I expected. And the way you swallowed me… don’t you have a gag reflex?”

Lance shrugs. “None of us do, really. Uh, us, as in …” He waves at his legs, but of course Shiro can’t see.

“You mean merpeople?” Keith says. Brute.

“Yeah, that,” Lance says. “We’re built to swallow pretty rough stuff?” Chewed fish bones and scales. Anyways. “But you feel that it became too much with both of us touching those areas?”

“Yeah, basically,” Shiro sighs.

“Hey,” Keith says, as he grabs the body gel and lathers himself in it, including his face. Heathen. “It’s alright. We just need to know.”

Shiro just sighs again, almost like he is disappointed at himself. Lance rinses his hair, and Shiro bends his head. Lance takes it as an opportunity to gently massage his neck.

“What do you want us to do differently another time?” Lance asks.

“If there’s going to be another time,” Keith quickly adds. “There doesn’t have to be.”

Shiro shrugs. “I don’t know. To be honest, I don’t really feel up for it anytime soon.”

So Shiro wanted to, but it drained him more than they estimated. Lance takes a quick look over his shoulder, and sees Keith washing not just his scalp, but all of his hair with shampoo. Lance would have to do something about that boy, the way he takes care of his body is going to drive Lance mad.

“Can I just… watch?” Shiro suggests, his voice so low that Lance almost doesn’t hear him. “Maybe tonight?”

Keith and Lance send each other a glance, and when Keith shrugs with a ‘Why not?’ face, Lance bends over to kiss the back of Shiro’s neck. Shiro gasps like Lance is grabbing him in-between his legs.

“Sure,” Lance says, kissing Shiro’s ear instead this time, which only draws out the same reaction. He stands up. “Why not?”


	2. Wet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything is damp and moist and watery like the world Lance’s body comes from.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is like 85% smut. I put a line from where the smut starts, and nothing essential happens during it, so go ahead and skip if you would like.  
> For others, enjoy ^^

That evening Lance finds himself surprisingly nervous. He and Keith have been working on reshaping Lance’s singing to target Galra, but despite their process, there is no real guarantee that the way Keith reacted towards Lance’s adjustments would have the same effect on a full Galra.

Lance can tell that Keith is nervous too, despite how naturally they keep touching throughout the day. Lance felt that tonight, perhaps , would be an experiment more than anything else, and as much as Lance respected that Shiro might not be up for sex in the future, he really hoped tonight would please him anyway.

They eat dinner with the team. Lance has forgotten to gnaw again (Shiro and Keith kept  _ distracting _ him, and he couldn’t bring himself to gnaw in front of them), so he has to eat the entire fish, with the bones and everything. He went to visit Lola in the morning, and because the Birkneans had willingly let sve fall in her proximity, she’s awaiting two fingerlings. The rays and sharks, which had attacked the team last time, had thankfully kept to themselves.

Pidge is the only one who visibly reacts to Lance eating the fish whole, and they don’t comment, besides wrinkling their nose.

“So, Shiro,” Allura says. “You have come together with Lance and Keith?”

It would be funny if Shiro had been drinking something, because he probably would have been choked on it due to her frankness. But, sadly, he’s not drinking his nectar water, so he just freezes and stares up at Allura with big eyes.

“Yes?” he says.

“I am glad to hear it.” Allura smiles. “Just remember not to let your personal affections affect your role as a leader.”

Shiro shakes his head. “Of course not,” he says.

Allura looks down at her plate again, and with that seemingly being it, they finish dinner. Lance stays and cleans up, since it’s his turn, and when he’s done, he goes to his room. He found some tiny bottles in the Castle’s storage, and he fills up six of them, two with cleanser, two with skin tonic and two with moisturizer. He quickly hops into the shower, making sure to clean certain areas very thoroughly, but not using any soap otherwise, since it’d dry him out.

When he steps out of the bathroom, Keith is already there, sitting on his bed, pretending to be fascinated with the small bottles. He looks up when he hears Lance, and Lance kind of wants to jump him immediately. He can smell Keith’s anticipation; it’s deep and mouthwatering, with a slight tinge of sour nervousness.

Keith has also showered, his hair still a little damp. Lance grabs his lotion bottle; the content is scentless and watery. It’d be alright to put on before sex, since it absorbed quickly and left no taste (yes, Lance has tested it).

“You smell nervous,” he notices, not able to let the silence linger for too long. He unabashedly throws off his robe, and starts rubbing lotion onto his skin. “What’s on your mind, babe?”

Keith twitches at the pet name, but doesn’t comment. “I know you already had, uh…”

Lance rubs his ass, lifting his eyebrows as Keith stalls, weirdly, not because he’s drooling over Lance’s body.

“Had?” Lance repeats when Keith closes his mouth.

“You’re not a virgin,” Keith says. “Right?”

“Kinda?” Lance asks, not knowing what brought this on. “I mean there was never any penetration.”

“Oh, okay,” Keith says, looking down at Lance’s feet.

Lance frowns, confused about Keith’s awkward mood.

“Babe? What’s on your mind?” Lance asks.

“What if everything I do goes wrong?” Keith asks.

Lance blinks, not comprehending as he grabs some fresh underwear. “Such as?” he asks.

“I don’t know?”

Lance finishes moisturizing his body, and tugs the underwear on. He puts an arm around Keith’s shoulder, and pulls him close to kiss his cheek. “Then we’ll just try again later. Don’t fret it.”

“It’s just that. There’s something you should probably know – “

A knock on the door interrupts him, and Lance calls out “Come in, hot stuff!”, knowing who it is, before turning back to Keith in inquiry. Shiro enters, and Lance turns back to look at Keith: “You were saying?”

Keith looks at Lance and then at Shiro, and shrugs uneasily. “Nothing.”

“Hey, just relax, man,” Lance assures, knowing that Keith is holding something back, but he doesn’t want to force it out of him. “If things don’t go smoothly, we’ll stop, okay? Sex is fun, not a performance.”

“He’s right,” Shiro adds as he sits down on Keith’s other side. He sounds calm and confident and Lance is glad he isn’t as anxious as yesterday. “If I can freak out and not be judged, you should be able to too.”

It makes Lance smile, and Keith nods, lifting his face to lean in and kiss Shiro. He smells like the need for comfort, but as Shiro cups his face with his hands, Keith’s hands are still carefully resting at his own sides.

Shiro soon pulls back, and kisses Lance’s forehead, his action loving and subtle in its nature, but it fills Lance’s stomach up with reassurance and confidence. Shiro stands up and walks over to get the desk’s chair, sitting down on it and smiling reassuringly at them.

Keith, despite his nervousness, surprisingly enough is the first one to reach out. He pulls Lance closely into his chest, and Lance lets himself be held tight. The kiss is careful. His arms tangle around Keith’s neck, but he quickly realizes that kissing Keith is more about being kissed than kissing. The smell of the red Paladin’s dominance is almost the same as the smell he has when he fights in his “Galran” way. 

___________

So Lance metaphorically leans back and enjoys being handled. It’s not long before Lance can feel Keith’s hands other places, sliding down to Lance’s waist where they clench down. Lance likes the feeling though. He always liked being handled a little rough, but not to the degree where he felt like there was a power imbalance. Lance is starting to grow hard as Keith’s possessiveness only becomes more self-assured. Is Lance into this?

He’s pushed down onto his back, Keith straddling his hips. He’s surprisingly heavy, and his hands are tugging off Lance’s underwear. Had Keith really been nervous less than two minutes ago? Lance is half-hard now, and his arms are still around Keith’s neck. His breathing quickens as it feels like Keith is kissing the breath out of his lungs, their limbs tangling together in a mess. Eventually Keith does let go of Lance, and kisses the edge of his jaw, fluttering down Lance’s neck. Lance’s hands are loose on top of Keith’s back, despite how he feels anything but relaxed. His legs have started spreading at some point. Seemingly without noticing, Keith nudges his legs in-between them, pushing them further apart. Lance sighs shakily, sliding his hands down to Keith’s ass. Keith responds with a rumble that sounds way too much like a purr, as he lowers his face, and sucks on the skin on Lance’s breastbone, his hands coming up to rub Lance’s nipples in gentle circles. Lance throws his head back, whining. Keith presses his wet lips in trail down Lance’s stomach until he eventually reaches Lance’s pubes, his hand coming up to grab Lance’s dick, lowering his mouth on it and licking it like it’s a lollipop. Lance writhes and moans lowly, and Keith smiles, looking like shark and says: “Your cock is so _pretty_.”

It makes Lance gasp, his dick twitching with the compliment, and Keith grins again, throwing Lance’s knees over his shoulder.

“Shiro, could you hand me the lube?” Keith hoarsely asks.

Lance turns his head, having almost forgotten Shiro’s presence.

Shiro looks at them with dark eyes, as he grabs the lube standing at the ready on Lance’s desk. Lance dazedly blinks at Shiro, who looks back at him with amusement, as he gives Keith the lube. Lance lifts his hips as Keith grabs a pillow to tuck underneath his lower back, and Lance smiles.

“For someone supposed to be inexperienced, it seems you’ve got this handled,” he comments.

Keith sends him a wry smile, before he kisses Lance’s inner thigh. It makes Lance draw in his breath sharply, and Keith bites down gently in response before Lance notices the sound of a cap opening, and soon feels the warm wet feeling of a finger nudging in-between his cheeks. Lance raises himself up on his elbows, so he can see and watches the moment Keith presses in a finger. The feeling is really weird, as it always is in the beginning, almost like he’s going to take a crap, but he endures until he starts to appreciate the feeling of being stretched. It’s good just to be entered, honestly, and as Lance’s gets looser, the sensation feels less like he’s going to shit and more like the itch of arousal.

Lance sighs, as Keith gives him another finger, and he turns to look at Shiro, who is starting to look restless in his seat.

“Eyes on me,” Keith growls before he sucks on Lance’s balls, and honestly, Lance doesn’t normally like that, but it’s Keith gets his attention.

A third finger is pushed in too soon, Lance hisses and reaches down to tug in Keith’s hair in retaliation. Keith bites his lip as Lance does it and Lance thinks ‘ _ Oh’,  _ before Keith sticks to licking at the shaft of Lance’s dick, fingering him more impatiently now. Keith adds in more lube, and that helps a little bit. Lance closes his eyes, exhaling shakily before firmly planting his feet on the mattress, and starts to grind back into the fingers. He hears Keith gasp, and his fingers become even quicker. Lance’s dick is dropping onto his stomach, and if Keith could just suck the head for one moment…

Keith pulls out, and Lance whines. The bastard is smiling as he sits up on his knees, positioning himself against Lance’s entrance, before pushing in.

Lance breathes into the pillow. This is so much better than fingering himself. He feels full, because Keith is bigger, hotter and more fulfilling than any of his bony fingers could ever be. He’s so hard inside Lance, yet so soft. Lance throws his face back, and Keith is there, grasping his knees with an iron grip, biting and sucking at Lance’s neck. Lance’s hands glide down Keith’s sides as he adjusts to the feeling, but all too soon Keith pulls out and presses back in again.

“Why don’t you make any noise,” Keith whispers, his breath wet against Lance’s ear.

Lance blinks at him, frowning but doesn’t have time to answer before Keith pulls back again and thrusts back in. He slowly builds up a rhythm, one that is firm and a little quick, but never harsh. Lance gasps and drools and whines and Keith feels so freaking big inside him. When Keith reaches down to grasp Lance’s cock, pressing his thumb again Lance’s slit, he’s a goner. His balls almost hurt as his cock comes in long ropes on his stomach. His cum is thin and almost transparent, and Keith yells and comes. Lance looks at him with an open mouth, watches Keith frown and drop his mouth open as he comes.

By the time he is done coming, Lance’s vision is blurry. Everything is damp and moist and watery like the world Lance’s body comes from. Where his lower front ribs pull apart, his sternum forms a dent, where the sweat dripping down from the waterfall of Lance’s neck makes way like a river. The river flows through the dent, and drops from the elevation of his ribcage to pool in his belly-button in a pond. His cum is cooling on his abdomen, warm salt water turning into ice as it congeals. His inner thighs and the inner parts of his knees, where Keith has been holding them, are slippery and hot. He can feel his hair stick onto his forehead, and licks his lips as Keith falls back onto his ass, his cock soft and glistening with lube on his thigh, his chest and thighs dewy with slowly cooling passion. He falls down besides Lance, and quickly puts his harsh hand on Lance’s neck, cupping it as he pulls Lance into a kiss.

They kiss for a while, lazy and sloppy, before Keith falls down from his elbow and looks down at Lance’s quivering and quickly bruising thighs in satisfaction.

But there’s a persistent smell of arousal in the room, and when he turns his head, he sees that Shiro has unexpectedly freed himself from his pants. Lance breathes in sharply as he blinks in confusion and interest. Shiro’s cock is red and hard in his hand, wet in the slit. He smells like he’s close to coming; the scent makes Lance’s mouth water. “You wanna finish in me?” he blurts.

He feels Keith’s dick twitch against his ass at his words, but he’s focused on Shiro. Shiro swallows dryly, before he stands up without answer, and pulls off his shirt. Lance bites his lip, as he somehow gains the strength to sit up, spreading his legs slightly as he stares at Shiro in anticipation.

“Come on, big boy,” he whispers hoarsely as Shiro throws off his pants and goes to sit on the bed and places himself in-between Lance’s legs. Lance can’t help but look down, where Shiro has his hand around the girth of his dick. Keith has sat up as well, and they all hold their breath as Shiro slowly but surely presses inside. Lance gasps as the head slides inside, and bites his lip as Shiro leans over to slowly slide inside, his weight becoming heavy on top of Lance. Shiro is longer than Keith, and Lance is already sensitive because he has already come, but when Shiro is balls-deep, Lance falls back into the covers, and looks at Shiro, who is staring back at him with big, dark eyes.

“Come on, big boy,” Lance repeats. “Do it.”

It makes Shiro thrust his hips, and lean even further forwards to lick a long strip up Lance’s neck. Lance gasps as it feels like all of his nerves are on fire. Shiro slowly pulls back, and slides in again in the same pace. Lance closes his eyes, and wraps his arms around Shiro’s neck, trying to make his knees do the same around Shiro’s waist. Shiro groans, and sucks on the bite on Lance’s neck. He almost feels small in Lance’s arms, and Lance can’t help but grasp him tight as Shiro keeps his steady, but slow pace. Lance expected Shiro would pretty much blow right away, but he was further from the edge than Lance expected as he keeps going at his own pace. Lance’s balls are starting to clench and he doesn’t know when it happened, but he has gotten hard again.

Lance bites at Shiro’s earlobe, whispering encouragements to him, telling him how good he’s making Lance feel and Shiro’s pace doesn’t quicken, but instead starts to stutter. Lance’s cock, which has been rubbing against his own pelvis and Shiro’s starts to spurt as it comes, Lance’s mouth opening as he hoarsely moans. It’s not long before Shiro stops, and cries out as he comes. Lance can feel the other’s man’s cock soften inside him, but can’t bring himself to let up his embrace. Well, right until Shiro chuckles at his fifth attempt at getting loose, and drops his whole body weight on Lance. Lance grunts as the breath leaves his lungs and lets go. Shiro sits up grinning and kisses Lance, sticking his tongue into Lance’s mouth immediately.

And that’s when Keith throws an arm around Lance’s head, almost like a headlock and wetly kisses Lance cheek, before whispering: “Can I… in you… one last time?”

Lance turns his face from Shiro’s to look at Keith in amazement. Before answering, he reaches down to finger himself, and feels how wet and greasy he feels inside. He’s so sloppy it’s hard to think how Keith would gain satisfaction out of it, but as he presses his two fingers inside and hits his prostate, he keens at how responsive it is. He’s not sure whether it’s a pleasurable sensation or not; all he knows is that it makes his world spin and his legs feel numb, and –

Shiro is biting down on his nipple, and Lance cries out. He immediately pulls back in alarm, but Lance rearranges his head and makes him do it again. The sensation is a mix of hot pleasure mixed with sharp pain. He suddenly wants it so bad, despite how his cock would not be up for another round anytime soon, and his hand presses harder into himself. His hand starts to cramp though and he whispers, “Yes, Keith, do it,” and Shiro and Keith switch places.

Now that Keith is closer, Lance notices his smell even more and feels like it has changed. Become less musky and more harsh, and when Keith turns Lance around, so he’s on his fours and presses Lance’s shoulders down in the bed, he understands it’s the smell of desperation.

Lance can actually feel come trickle down his thighs when Keith unceremoniously plunges in. He’s clenching down on Lance’s hips this time, and is it just Lance, or does Keith suddenly seem stronger? That’s the only thing that can explain how Keith practically moves Lance’s whole body onto his dick as he pounds away. Lance is feeling dizzy and pretty roughed up by now, but in a good way. In a ‘So-drunk-I’m-lying-on-the-middle-of-the-road-and-staring-at-the-stars’ kind of way. He feels high with it, like he’s burning on the inside out. Keith stops to pant for a moment, before nudging Lance’s legs together, and pressing them down. Once Lance is glued onto the sticky sheets, Keith cups Lance’s hips and tilts them. Keith climbs on top, and slams inside, directly hits Lance’s spot, and Lance can’t help but roll his eyes back as Keith does it again and again, quicker and harder and not relenting at all until it hurts to maintain the position. 

Keith slams in but stays deep inside this time, and moans, and Lance can tell he’s coming. Keith suddenly feels bigger inside him, and Lance writhes as it feels like he’s being stretched even further. And suddenly, before it’s even close to being over, Keith pulls out and Lance feels the rest of the cum fall onto his cheeks and asshole.

He blinks slowly, listening to Keith practically heave on top of him, before Keith very suddenly tumbles down on his stomach. Lance should probably be reaching for some tissue, but he’s not sure he can move, to be honest. He closes his eyes, and despite the itching feeling which is only getting worse, he very intentionally doesn’t move.

At some point Shiro stands up, and walks to the bathroom. A little time later, Shiro comes out, clean and fresh-faced and Lance just knows this wasn’t going to be good. “Alright boys, we’re not sleeping on those sheets. They’re dirty.”

Lance grunts to voice his disagreement, because as already stated, he does not want to move and secondly, he’s pretty sure 2/3 of the cum involved in this session is inside him, so.

But of course Shiro throws Keith a rag and Keith has proved time and time again that he does not care for Lance’s comfort, so he ruthlessly lifts Lance’s ass up and cleans him the same way Lance’s mother would wipe down her niece during a diaper change. Who said his lovers are wonderful? Clearly he is having sex with merciless assholes, who can’t even let him rest for five fucking minutes when he was the one having his brains fucked out –

Shiro bows down and scoops Lance up, and he almost yelped in surprise. Shiro’s arms are warm and strong, and Lance can’t help but purr as he leans his face against Shiro’s chest, feeling small and cuddly and protected.

Keith very quickly changes the covers, and Shiro lies down first, Lance on top of him and towards the wall, and Keith at the edge of the bed. Shiro’s heartbeat is steady underneath Lance’s ear. 


	3. Tell me 'cause it's blowing my mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It'll only be two days until they'll arrive to Earth, and Lance can't wait. Preparation isn't easy though, especially when Keith has been cold lately and Lance is trying to figure out why.

# Two weeks later

The cycle of day and night is way more important than most people give it credit for. It supplied a way to establish routines, first of all, something the Paladins had relied on more than they even knew, which they only realized when they started living every day (ha) in the Castle. When they had first moved into the Castle, its lights had been on all the time and there had been no stable routines. Coran and Allura have irregular habits. Allura and Coran didn’t really eat together either; the Castle did have rather big dinner tables, but not because the previous inhabitants of the Castle actually needed to eat together – after all, there was only goo, which didn’t really require a lot of prepping so anyone could pretty much eat at anytime. To the Alteans, eating together isn’t a time for relaxation, but rather, the big tables were there because you sometimes had to multitask by nourishing yourself while also holding a meeting.

But a few months after the Paladins had moved in, Coran had noticed that they had started losing weight, despite their training. (Heck, Pidge had even stopped menstruating, they later revealed). It had even been revealed that if the Paladins didn’t keep an eye on the clock, they stayed awake for up to 24 hours at time without noticing. What would it be like to come back to Earth? Say “Sun” and not hear Allura correct him? It isn’t just his family he misses; he misses routines and their predictability. It felt safe. He knows that the Castle has become a home for some of them, but to Lance, Earth would always be his home. He knows the air, knows the water, knows the earth. He knows the  _ time _ ; that there are 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 12 months a year. And it’d only be two days before they’d arrive to Earth!

“Coran!” he calls. “How long is this going to take?”

“Just another tick!” Coran calls back, Lance’s armor on the table in front of him. They’re in a room Lance hadn’t been in until a week ago: Coran’s workshop. It’s easy to forget, but besides being a royal advisor, just like his grandfather was, he’s also an expert in Altean engineering. It isn’t often he’s actually in the workshop to create though, except now.

Lance tries to hide his impatience. Because right now, Lance could be cuddling Shiro, or kissing with Keith, or  _ both _ . Because that is a thing now; he’s dating not one, but two people. He has regular threesomes. He’s gotten  _ spitroasted _ .

“There we go,” Coran says with a smile, as he picks up the armor. “Go ahead and put it on.”

Coran is trying to upgrade Lance’s armor, so it would fit him in his mer-form. As much as the armor is able to stretch and tighten in all areas of it, it would always stay in its humanoid, bipedal, form. It had been easy to change the fibers so the armor would go from fitting two legs to one tail, and also moderately achievable to make the armor do it when Lance did it. The most difficult challenge is the fact that the armor compromises Lance’s flexibility, and so Coran and he have been in here for hours, each day for the past week, trying to solve the problem.

The team had been horrified when Lance got around to telling them what actually happened on Thu. Long story short, Lance had been unconscious when he had fallen into the water. He had sunk through the crack in the earth, and the battle had created a rent in his armor, flooding it with water on the inside. The thing with Thu was that the water had been heavy, and because of the ice, contained a very little dissolved oxygen. Even if Lance had transformed, he wouldn’t have been able to breathe right. But nonetheless the water inside dragged him down, and he hadn’t been able to transform in the armor; it could adapt to change of size, but not change its humanoid design. And where Lance’s clothes would’ve normally just ripped at a transformation anyway, the armor had stayed freakishly intact and actually contained his transformation. For half a day Lance had struggled to get out of the armor, as he gradually fell towards the bottom of the crack. It had been so dark and silent down there. He had finally succeeded in destroying the nether parts of his armor, once he had actually reached the bottom and had sharper tools at hand. He had brought out his tail, but the darkness and the hugeness of the crack had made sure that he got lost time and time again. He lived off crabs and shrimps while down there. He had finally realized that the helmet had been interfering with his sonar. As soon as he had taken off the helmet, though, the heavy water had started choking him and as soon as he had reached the surface, he’d passed out. When he woke up, Blue had been there.  

When Coran had learned of this, he had been determined to fix the armor so he’d be able to transform.

When Lance is done putting on the armor, he sits at the edge of the flat fake basin the Coran’s 3-D printer had created for this purpose, and dips in.

He takes a deep breath, and starts the transformation. His bones begin popping underneath his skin, but Coran has long ago gotten used to the sound. Lance knows his legs are actually breaking in this instant; he once saw footage of it happening in X-ray, and it had been fascinating yet disturbing to see. How his femur and fibula had writhed and broken into pieces, reshaping into vertebras, rays of the fins, and how the bones in his feet became the hypural, and neural and hemal spine. How Mers’ bodies can make bones break and reshape within minutes was something he had always wondered about, but even if there existed an explanation out there, Lance probably wouldn’t get it.

When Lance is done transforming, he gives an experimental swing with his tail. The armor on his tail looks like vines have around twisted around it. When he feels no noticeable resistance, he lies down and really stretches his tail in all imaginable positions, but the armor doesn’t cut or chafe. Of course it’s limited to how much he can actually test it in a pool like this and Lance does not like the thought of swimming stiffly, but Keith should be sparring with the Gladiator right now, and Lance could think of few ways he could make Keith wrestle. Ways that Keith has gotten the hang of, but hey, more practice never hurts …

“It feels fine,” Lance says, and starts to change back. “Like a second skin.”

Coran looks delighted at this, and Lance only has to do a few more tests, before he’s off to look for Keith. He doesn’t find Keith in the training room, though. Hoping to catch Keith in the showers, he checks there, but still no Keith, and he knows Shiro has a meeting with Kolivan right now. Great. What now?

He goes to the mirror, now that he’s close to it anyway. He should be in pristine condition when his mother would see him again. He checks his skin for blackheads. He finds a few on his nose, but the dry patches have cleared up, courtesy to Hunk’s scrub, and he only has a single blemish left, right underneath his chin where nobody would notice it anyway. His eyebrows will have to be plucked soon, but otherwise he looked stunning as always. He grins at his reflection.

Right. His teeth. Now would probably be a good time to do it.

\-----

Normally Lance would be gnawing at branches, hopefully a nice long-lasting oak. But in space, he would have to do with a mineral block, some sandpaper paper and his file. The block functions as a rough cutter, so he listens to some music from his music player in the meanwhile. His gums are far from sensitive, but they ache by the time he’s finished gnawing and bits and pieces of his teeth are on it. He makes a face at the gross bodily waste, and is about to grab his sandpaper when there’s a knock on the door.

“Who is it?” Lance calls out, jumping and his mineral block falls down to the floor.

“It’s me,” Keith answers. “What are you doing?”

“Uh, nothing,” Lance says. “Listen, Keith, I’m busy right now, I’m doing some stuff.”

“Yeah?” Keith says outside the door, clearly waiting for an explanation.

“I think Shiro should be done with his meeting by now,” Lance nervously continues. “I’ll see you at dinner, right?”

“Okay.” He sounds disappointed, maybe even a little surprised. Lance never closed his door for anybody, but even though the team has been nothing but supportive and done various things to make sure his Mer-needs are accommodated, he still doesn’t relax completely around them. It had been difficult just to eat that fish in front of them; there was no way he was ready to break his teeth off in front of them. Both made Lance feel like an animal, raw and primal and unrelatable.

He hears Keith walk away, and sighs. If he hurries he might get to sneak Keith a smooch as an apology before dinner starts.

\-----

Lance does end up seeing Shiro and Keith at dinner. They’re already sitting together, mumbling among themselves.

Lance struts into the room and proclaims: “I’m here!”

Hunk smiles and says, “Hi Lance,” while Pidge rolls their eyes. Coran smiles at him, and greets him as well, while Allura sits with a small disapproving frown on her brows.

“What took you so long?” she asks.

“Not all of us can be perfect naturally,” Lance answers with a grin as he sits down besides Keith. “This beautiful body needs maintenance.”

“Really?” Pidge says with a small smirk. “You must be struggling then with all the … marks.”

Lance slaps a hand on his neck, before he remembers that Keith hasn’t left any marks since Lance asked him not to do it where people could see. Pidge cackles at his reaction though and Lance kicks their knee. Hunk has already poured his soup in a cup like he wants it. Four small fish are also on a plate for him, but unlike the others’ fish, they’re not filleted and cooked. They’re scaled and gutted, and the head and tail fin are cut off, but besides that they’re raw. As much as Lance appreciates Hunk’s quiet adjustments, he feels himself flush in embarrassment. So they did notice him eating it whole. He eats like an animal in front of his  _ boyfriends _ . How stupid could he be to think he could do it without them noticing? It must seem so gross to them.

Maybe Lance should eat alone the next time his teeth were out.

He grabs his knife and spork, and silently cuts the fish in smaller pieces.

“So, how did the meeting go?” Hunk asks, and when Lance looks up, Hunk quickly shifts his eyes away.

“He agreed to guarding our solar system until we’re done on Earth,” Shiro says. “He also told us that Zarkon apparently has a son, named Lotor, and he’s fighting for the throne right now. He’ll be sending people to watch Lotor closely, but we have to prepare ourselves for cutting our vacations short. The Galra Empire is still very much unstable, too unstable to organize an attack any time soon, but we must still be wary. Our job is far from done.”

Oh God, his boyfriend makes such great speeches. Not only is he handsome as fuck, the nicest and most gentle person ever and a formidable fighter, he’s also the best leader ever.

Shiro looks at all of them, and when his eyes land on Lance, he says, “Lance, did you listen to what I just said?”

“Hm?”

“You look like the heart eyes emoji right now, man,” Hunk says and giggles.

“You’re just mad because I realized you’re not the only…” He grins at his best friend. “…  _ hunk _ .”

Pidge wails like they’ve gotten acid into their eyes, Shiro face palms and Hunk looks absolutely offended.

“Excuse you,” he says, putting up a hand. “Did I just hear those words come out of my best bro’s mouth?”

Lance laughs. “I’m kidding, Hunk. You know you’re the only one for me.”

“I thought so,” Hunk says, still indignant and Lance makes kissy faces at him in return. Lance leans into Keith’s side and smiles up at him.

“Dude, your breath,” Keith says, sounding annoyed, and Lance quickly pulls back, self-consciously putting his hand on his mouth and looking away. He’s reluctant to finish his food now, but is easily distracted by the talk around the table.

\----

Lance scatters quickly after dinner to take care of his breath. He makes sure to brush his teeth in the training room’s showers to make sure nobody will see him do it. He checks his teeth for sharpness, and feels like his canine teeth have already started growing back out again.

He has nothing to file them with here, and is briefly consumed by a cloud of doubt. Maybe he should sleep in his own room tonight; they’ve acquired two mattresses, and removed the mattress from the bedframe in Shiro’s room, and made a huge bed on the floor, where they’re comfortable now. That means that mostly they stay in Shiro’s room, so it’d definitely be weird if he didn’t show up, but then again, he could probably make something up.

His stomach hurts as he silently panics. He keeps standing there, staring at his teeth, until he notices a pimple right underneath his cheekbone. God, is he breaking out  _ again _ ? He was so sure that he… maybe the products he and Coran developed together, aren’t working for him anymore?

Lance checks his hair while he’s at it, and not only is his hair too long, his ends are split and its usual glossiness is gone. Why is this happening to him two days before he’s going to see his mother, and while he practically lives with his boyfriends? He used to have beautiful hair, clear skin, but the products he and Coran developed together aren’t enough, as much as they try. Lance needs something a dermatologist has made, needs a dermatologist to just take care of his skin, but that isn’t possible in space. If he’d been on Earth, he would’ve looked good for his boyfriends.

God, who is he kidding? If he had still been on Earth, Keith would’ve still dismissed his relevance like always and Shiro wouldn’t even know Lance existed. Hunk is straight, Pidge is basically still a child, Allura likes chicks, and Coran is old. Of course they picked Lance. He’s the only person in the Castle who’s fair game.

Wow. Lance really has to stay on his toes, if they’re going back to Earth. There he’d have plenty of rivals. He looks down at his body, and lifts up his shirt. His shoulders have always been broad, and he has some defined triceps and as he turns around, his lats seem pretty defined too. But besides that, he’s lean. He doesn’t even have abs. Pidge is lean and they have a pretty ripped stomach.

He has to work on this.

“Lance?”

Lance quickly lowers the seam of his shirt and turns around. Hunk rounds the corner of the lockers, and smiles hesitantly at him.

“There you are,” he says with a grin. “You do know the changing room isn’t your beauty room, right?”

“But it has such great lighting and huge mirrors,” Lance replies, and strikes a pose in the mirror. “Whassap, bro?”

“Oh nothing,” Hunk says, but he seems restless. “Was I out of line to prepare your food like that?”

Lance meets his eyes in the mirror. Despite how he had felt when he had seen how his food differed from the rest of them, he knew Hunk had no ill intentions. Lance did prefer his fish raw. It just tasted right. He just didn’t like eating it in front of the others. Either way, Lance couldn’t bring himself to blame Hunk. “Nah, man,” he says and turns around. “You made them just like I like them. But now that I’ve…” He points at his mouth, and hurries to ask: “Do they seem sharp to you still?”

He pulls back his lips and bares his gums and teeth as he opens his mouth wide. Hunk comes closer and frowns at Lance’s teeth, before looking up. “They look good. They always do.”

Lance swallows dryly and closes his mouth, glaring at his best friend. Clearly his bro is just trying to reassure him. Before Lance can insist, Hunk throws an arm around Lance’s shoulders and leads him out of the changing room.

“Bro, would I lie to you?” he asks.

Lance is 99.9% sure Hunk wouldn’t. Hunk actually picked Lance as his best bro while there was plenty of competition; they’ve had a connection since the day Garrison put them together with Pidge.

Hunk gasps. “You’re hesitating!”

“Am not!” Lance quickly denies.

“Yes you were!” Hunk says, and looks seriously hurt for a microsecond, before he pouts.

“Alright, I was,” Lance admits, stopping to look Hunk in the eyes. “But I do believe you, bro. If you say I look good, I look good.”

“Yeah!”

Lance grins, his mood instantly lifting. Hunk is amazing. He always knew how to cheer him up.

“Wanna go bother Pidge?” Hunk asks.

“Sure!”

\----

By the time Hunk and Lance have finished harassing Pidge, he has the self-confidence to go to Shiro’s – or rather, their – room. It smells like sex and sweat in there, but they figured out a long time ago that not all of them had to be present for that. Lance just hopes Shiro has stayed his freakishly hygienic self and refused to sleep on dirty sheets.

Lance goes to the bathroom, and carefully closes the door. He takes his time doing his face routine, making sure to do a thorough face massage, before finishing with his toner and moisturizer. As he fixes his hair for one last time, his eyes fall to his stomach. Still no abs. Not even pubic hair. And Lance knows, that that shouldn’t be a problem considered he’d almost definitely would’ve shaved it anyway. But besides his head and face (alright, besides his hair and his eyes, because who is kidding, Lance would never grow a beard), his body has no visible hair. Not even down. It didn’t seem very manly to be hairless.

He sighs, and knows that that’s one of the few things he can’t help, so he brushes his teeth and changes his underwear, before leaving the bathroom.

Keith opens an eye as the light from the bathroom falls onto his face. Lance quickly turns it off, before walking over to their bed. Thankfully, no towels are on the mattress, which means that Shiro has been his usual tyrant self.

The two have naturally left a gap in-between them, since both of them get too hot very easily, and Lance easily wriggles in. Shiro grunts, and says “Hi Lance”, before turning his head to smile at Lance. Lance smiles back, and kisses him on the nose, receiving a sleepy grin in return, before he turns and spoons Keith, whom he knows damn well is awake.

He nuzzles Keith’s neck, noticing that earthy scent of his in the curve between his shoulder and neck, and presses his nose down on what feels like the source of it.

Keith flinches. “Lance,” he growls.

“Sorry,” Lance says, not really knowing what he’s apologizing for, but he strokes Keith’s sides soothingly.

Keith finally turns around and throws an arm around Lance’s neck, pulling him in. Their lips meet, and Keith’s scent becomes stronger. What Lance thought would be a brief goodnight peck quickly evolves to deeper kissing.

Keith’s hand settles on Lance’s hip, and it feels heavy.

Ever since their first time, Keith has been insatiable. What used to be natural touching has become frequent pawing throughout the day, and Lance couldn’t help but get caught up in it. It’s not a really surprise; Lance has always been weak towards temptation, though he would like to think he has learned some self-control since they’ve become Paladins; after all he had the vague yet constant need to just scram home at the slightest provocation. It was only when Hunk had caught them grinding in his  _ kitchen _ , that he had learned to take a deep breath and drag Keith somewhere else.

Lance is distracted from his train of thought, when Keith takes Lance’s hand and places it on his naked ass. The cheeks are wet, and when Lance pushes inquisitive fingers forward, he can feel that Keith has been stretched open, though he’s too tight now to just press in his fingers. Keith nudges even closer to Lance as Lance feels around. The other boy’s breath is hot against Lance’s neck. Lance carefully keeps his mouth closed, in case his mouth still smells. Keith’s hair covers his forehead and eyes, and sticks to his skin. Lance is about to press a finger inside, when Keith growls.

But it’s not a normal growl. It comes from the depth of his chest, vibrating and hoarse.

Immediately Keith pulls back, his eyes opening wide. Lance looks at him in mild surprise.

“Keith?” Lance asks, more surprised by Keith pulling back than the actual sound.

Keith takes Lance’s hand and puts its on Lance’s own chest, before rolling over to face against Shiro’s softly snoring figure.

Lance is frozen in lack of comprehension, and stares at the back of Keith’s head until it feels like his eyes are going to roll out. Did he… do something wrong? Were his nails to sharp? He rubs his fingertips against the fingers that had been touching Keith. The nails are short and filed, like he always liked to keep them. No sharp edges or roughness. And he had made sure to keep his mouth away from Keith’s face. Hadn’t he been quick enough to touch Keith? Was Keith tired of always initiating things?

Lance finally turns, and stares at the wall instead of the back of Keith’s head. Even though any of his boyfriends have the right to say no anytime they wanted, he can’t help but feel rejected.

Two days. In two days he would be home, and everything would be better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is quite a heavy chapter, and idk whether all of my points got across?  
> So if there's anything that needs further explanation or you have some corrections you would like to add, don't be shy and go ahead and tell me :)


	4. Coming home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, folks, rather short chapter, but next chap is gonna be pretty long.  
> Thanks to Ashacrone for betaing!

Keith doesn’t even want to meet Lance’s eyes at breakfast, and he picks at his food as he tries to catch Keith’s glance. This must be his fault. He must’ve missed something. He’s been ransacking his brain for answers, and has found dozens of errors, but none great enough for Keith to just turn cold like that.

The casual touches they’ve had are gone. Lance reaches out to hold Keith’s hand underneath the table, but as soon as Allura talks to Keith, he immediately lets go to reply to her.   
Lance stares down at his empty hand. He should probably be honest and ask him what the matter is. He needed clarification, so he could apologize at least. 

“Lance?” Shiro asks after breakfast, as they’re headed towards the training room. “You look tired. Did you not sleep well yesterday?” 

Lance looks up at Shiro. He doesn’t want to stress Shiro out with his issues and he’s afraid that if he says something, Shiro will feel like that he has to pick sides. And still, he can’t help but want help. “I think Keith is upset with me.”

Shiro stops, and frowns at him. “What makes you think that?” 

Lance shrugs. “We were… while you were sleeping. I don’t know. He just suddenly stopped, pulled away, and ignored me when I called out for him.”   
“Oh,” Shiro says, and even he sounds surprised, “that sounds unlike him. Were you two fighting beforehand?”

Lance throws up his hands. “I don’t know,” he admits. “He has been weird off and on the past two weeks, but he’s never outright ignored me.”   
Shiro tilts his head. “Weird? How? How haven’t I noticed?”

Lance flushes. “It’s mostly been while we were having sex.”   


“Oh.”   


Shiro skips out on sex half of the time of understandable reasons.   


“And what exactly happens?” Shiro continues asking, his voice more intent now.   


Lance hesitates. “I’m probably blowing this up more than I should.”   


Shiro doesn’t answer, just looks at Lance in question.   


Lance laughs nervously. “I mean, things can become a little rough, I guess? I mean. He holds me down sometimes, and uh…”   


“Have you talked to Keith about it?”   


“I mean, it’s not, like, about the roughness, really?” Lance scratches the back of his neck. “Sometimes he just suddenly pushes me away during it with no explanation. But, you know, that’s fine because we finish together anyways, and it’s like nothing even happened. But yesterday he just pushed me away, and he hasn’t met my eyes since.”   


Now that Lance says it out loud, he does sound a lot more hurt than he expected. “But it’s not like I’m hurt or anything!” he quickly exclaims. “I would just like to know what’s wrong, you know.”   


What’s wrong with me? he thinks.   


“I was going to talk to him today,” Lance says. “Don’t worry your pretty little head about it.”   


Was it because of his looks?    


Shiro sighs, and looks at Lance. Were his eyes just resting on Lance’s hair for a microsecond too long? “Why didn’t you talk to me about it?”   


Lance shrugs. “The thing you have with us is like the only time you’re not the boss and stuff,” Lance says, a little deflated. “I don’t want you to think about what’s going onbetween me and Keith.”   


“But you’re both my boyfriends, remember,” Shiro says, and he steps in, puts his hands on Lance’s cheeks and makes him meet his eyes. “I adore you and I adore Keith, and I want to know if the two of you have trouble, alright?”   


Lance meets his eyes and nods. Shiro kisses his forehead, and then gently on his mouth.   


“It’s probably a misunderstanding,” Shiro offers. “Go talk to Keith after training, alright?”   


Lance nods, and Shiro kisses him again, before they join the others in the training room. Keith is staring them down as they do so, and the training session feels awkward, and Lance keeps looking at Keith, waiting for some sign.    


But Keith stays quiet and closed in, and as soon as the training finishes, Shiro herds Hunk and Pidge out of the room, talking quickly as he asks them questions Lance is too worried to listen to.   


Keith, at least, doesn’t try to run. His Bayard folds in, as he sits down on the floor and looks at Lance.    


Lance silently goes to sit in front of him, but with a respectable distance. “Look,” Lance says, holding up his hands, “we don’t need to make this complicated. Just tell me what I did wrong, so I can adjust, okay?”   


Keith’s eyes flash up to look at him. His bangs are wet on his forehead, like the day before. “You didn’t do anything,” Keith says, his voice very small. “It’s nothing.”    


How is Lance supposed to believe him?    


“If you’re going to lie about it, at least try to sound convincing?” Lance can’t help but snap. “Look, I try not to be shitty, but I can’t if –“   


“Not everything is about you, Lance,” Keith interrupts.    


Lance rolls his eyes, and starts to get up. “Funny, because you don’t hold Shiro down during sex and you certainly don’t just push him away – “   


Keith jumps up, and grabs Lance’s arm. “Wait.”   


“Why?” Lance exclaims, perhaps louder than what is warranted. “You don’t want to talk to me.”   


“Just wait,” Keith says, the casual note in his voice gone and his tone much more urgent. “I’m sorry that was stupid of me. I should be honest.”   


Lance’s inhales deeply and it feels like there’s a lump in his throat. So Lance did do something.   


“It’s seriously not you, Lance,” Keith says, his voice quieter and more genuine as he looks down, “it’s me.”   


The lump becomes bigger, and Lance blinks at him, until Keith says: “I feel like I can’t control myself when I’m with you. And it scares me.”   


Lance frowns. “Why me?”   


“You let me do whatever,” Keith answers. “It’s easy to lose control when you don’t have any restrictions, like with Shiro.”   


Lance goes from frustrated to thoroughly confused. “What’s wrong with that?” Lance asks. “I’m an adult, Keith, I can say no if it becomes too much.”   


Keith looks at his hands. “It’s not normal. The way I feel.”   


“I’m sure it’s – “   


“I mean,” Keith interrupts, “my dick is weird. I make weird noises.”   


Lance feels three seconds away from blowing up about how little of deal this really is. To him Keith is obviously worrying over nothing, but if this is seriously a concern for Keith, he has to hear him out. “Weird how?”   


“Surely you’ve noticed,” Keith snaps.    


“No, I haven’t. Tell me what you mean.”   


“I growl a lot.”

  
“Yes. And?”   


“I knot.”

  
Lance is about to write Keith off, when he suddenly remembers how many times it felt like Keith would suddenly grow bigger, suddenly swell while inside Lance, and how Keith would often react by quickly pulling out and coming on his ass. Lance had always thought that the swelling had been imaginary – after all, it only happened once in awhile – and that Keith just liked coming on Lance’s ass. But now that he actually thinks about it, he never felt like Shiro became bigger, and when Keith pulled out, he’d often land on his stomach and not move for a while.

“Oh,” Lance says, promptly closing his mouth. “I thought that was just in my head.”

“No, it’s not,” Keith says, his face tomato red, his mouth a thin line. “You’re not built for it, so when it happens, I try to pull out in time. Otherwise we’d be stuck for at least a few minutes.” 

“Huh.” Lance stares at him, before remembering that Keith probably feels really vulnerable right now, and goes to sit besides Keith. ”Is it a Galra thing?” 

“Pretty sure!” Keith exclaims, but Lance knows he’s just upset and not really mad. “I thought it was normal, and I’ve been doing it since I was sixteen.”

“Sex ed really failed you, huh?” Lance rhetorically asks, trying to lighten the mood. “Hey, it’s okay. You’ve got a Galra dick. So what?” 

“You locked yourself into your room, and told me to go,” Keith says, sounding annoyed. “And then you didn’t show up until midnight, when you knew we would be sleeping. I thought it was me.”

“Oh, Keith,” Lance says, and he can’t help but laugh. “Of course it wasn’t you.” He leans into Keith’s side. “Shiro was totally right, this was just a stupid misunderstanding.”   
“But why then?” Keith asks.

Lance snorts with laughter. “It’s stupid. I thought the teeth were bothering you, so I took care of them. And Hunk came to cheer me up about it so I stayed with him until midnight.”

“Oh?” Keith scowls at Lance’s mouth and Lance opens it and bares his teeth. “You have taken care of it. I didn’t notice.”   
Lance pouts, but then grins. “See? We were both fretting over nothing.”

Keith smiles back. “But we do need to talk more about it, I think,” Keith says. “I’d feel safer if you – and Shiro – were more aware of what goes on in my head when we’re having sex.”

“That sounds good,” Lance agrees.    
\-----   
After Keith, Shiro and Lance has talked, Lance realizes something. Keith hadn’t realized Lance had polished his teeth, and neither had Shiro.   
\----   
“Are you making out with your Lion?” 

Lance breaks the full-body embrace he has with Blue’s paw, and swirls around. “No!”   
Shiro gives him a skeptical glance. “It’ll only be 7 days, Lance.”

“I know, but – “ Blue isn’t just his Lion anymore, some vehicle or pet. Not even a partner. She’s an essential part of Lance’s soul, who’s permanently melded together with him. Yes, Lance missed his family but if it hadn’t been because of this god-forsaken war, he’d happily keep her in his backyard, aka the sea, though she’d probably become restless sooner or later. She could go eat whale hunters or something then.

Shiro wraps an arm around Lance’s shoulder, and taps Lance’s temple. “She’s always there, remember?”

“Yeah,” Lance says and Shiro kisses his hair. Shiro’s kisses are the best. “I guess you’re gonna go see your mama now, huh?”   
“Yeah,” Shiro says, and his voice is a hoarse sigh. He looks nervous and excited, and it’s the closest to a nervous wreck Lance has ever seen him outside his flashbacks.    
“She’s gonna be thrilled.” Lance tries to sound reassuring. “I know my mom is.”

Shiro smiles gently at him, though there’s still something hesitant around the corners of his eyes. Before Lance can ask, Shiro starts to lead him to the Bridge. They walk in silence, which is oddly comfortable for Lance. 

Nobody actually told the Paladins to show up on the Bridge. But the Princess is going to make the jump, and somehow they all just wanted to be present for that. As Shiro and Lance arrive, the last people to get there, the Princess turns away from the control panel and gives them a pleasant smile.

“So, now is the day,” she says, and she looks slightly excited even. Their excitement had probably rubbed off on her. “I am so glad on your behalf, Paladins! This is a day you surely deserve!”

With these final words and responding nods from them all, she turns around.   
\-----   
After the jump, they hide the Castle behind Kerberos, which is ironic. Ever since Shiro and the Holts went missing, the moon had been rumored as cursed and as they tentatively near the moon – as tentatively as a giant Castle/Ship can be – their scanner show a lack of life signs or technology activity, though the wreck of Shiro and the Holts’ old ship is there. They’re all wearing the clothes they wore the day they left Earth; only Keith stands in his red armor, having decided to stay behind. He said he wanted Lance and Shiro to enjoy their time with their families, but something told Lance it went deeper than that. Lance had assured him that he could come, and he had been genuine about his offer. Either way Keith and Shiro had to meet his parents by the end of the week. 

God. In seven days he’ll already be taking off from Earth, and he can barely wrap his mind around landing on it. While the year as a Paladin had went by pretty fast, because of the nature of their jobs, it had still felt like an eternity in some way.

Lance kisses Keith goodbye. Keith looks content, happy even, as he lets go and turns to give Shiro the same parting kiss. Not even Pidge complains, too excited.

They board the green Lion, and while the Lions had always been fast, Lance couldn’t wait. The Lion raises its invisibility cloak, when Green sights the first satellite. Lance’s phone is in his pocket. He holds Shiro’s hands, as it beeps and tells them that it has coverage. He had been the only one with both a phone and a charger on him when they had gotten onto the Blue Lion a year ago, so Shiro and Hunk stand around him as he goes online.

Never has the blue of Twitter and Facebook been such a welcome sight; as he logs onto his profile, he feels like he has been in a claustrophobic bubble for all of this time, and finally it bursts .   


Hundreds of messages have been posted on his wall; as they had all predicted, their world had assumed death because of their disappearances. He’s just surprised his Facebook is still up; after all plenty of people should be able to have report him deceased.

Quickly, he checks his mother’s profile. It’s the same picture as when he left; his father’s too is the same. Lola’s is changed, to a picture that almost looks professionally taken.    
Before he can start following the long trail of family members, he searches for Colleen Holt. 

“Your mother moved to Portland,” Lance announces to Pidge. “And joined a mindfulness group.”

He gives Hunk the phone, who quickly checks his primary list of family members as well, before handing it to Shiro, who only checks for his mother. 

The phone is given back to Lance, when Green enters Earth’s atmosphere. Pidge has already typed in the coordinates, and it’s only ten minutes, before they’re hovering over the empty dark coast of Lake Biwa. Pidge gets up from the pilot seat and gives Shiro a hug. Next is Hunk who wishes him good luck as well. Lance’s eyes feel wet, but he’s not completely sure why that is. They hug tightly for long moments, before separating. 

Shiro jumps out of Green’s mouth. Lance has a feeling that everything is going to change.   
\----   
The next one is Hunk. They land soundlessly on Apia’s coast. The lights of the flat city, Apia, are like stars. The curve of the Samoan mountains makes a dark cut in the violet sky.   
Lance gives Hunk a tight hug. The big guy is silently crying. Something is coming apart. Not only the claustrophobia, the loneliness of five humans being the only pieces left of Earth, the desperate need to stay together and keeping each other alive, solely because they are the only home they’ve got … They are all bad elements Lance is happy to not be a part of his life anymore, but with it goes something soft and tender and bleeding that has glued them together. And as he sees Hunk leave Green’s mouth, wearing his green vest and yellow shirt, the warm light of electricity on his face and the ocean wind ruffling his hair, Lance knows something better will grow out of the cracks left behind. The smell of the sea reaches Lance’s nose; he heaves it in like he’s choking.    
\----   
Lance eventually changes his armor as they near Varadero Beach. He hugs Pidge tightly, and kisses their head – for once they don’t scream in agony, surely they are feeling the moment too – and jumps out of Green’s mouth, hearing the Lion flying away before he hits the water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you guys watch S3?! Tell me your opinions about it in the comments!


	5. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allura is about to speak, when the girl straightens. Now that the rest of the face is visible, the likeness is astounding. She must be related to Lance.
> 
> But then the girl opens her mouth and starts to sing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A longer chapter!

When the Princess said she intended to provide as many planets BirkShields as possible, she was not kidding around. Keith barely gets to notice how empty it feels without the other Paladins, as she bounces the Castle around galaxies, first securing the Balmeras before moving on to the more technologically advanced planets. Lance had repeatedly asked Allura to please secure Thu and the merpeople there, but they are at low risk, considering how the shell of ice covering the planet has been fooling the Galra so far. Queen Luxia has already started to re-establish interstellar travel and trade though, so it would only be a matter of time before they’d be figured out. Keith doesn’t really know what Thu would have to offer to the Galra, but Hunk had mentioned advanced technology. At the end of the week, they drop by the Olkari; not to secure it, since they already had that handled, but to drop the BirkShields off for upgrades. It’s hard to bypass the planets with the weaker populations, people who had given up fighting or who never stood a chance to win in the first place, but Keith reminds himself that the quicker they cut off the Galras’ resources, the more the Paladins would strengthen the power of all the people around the universe.  

By the end of the week, Allura and Keith are ready to faint with exhaustion, and Coran frets as they make the jump back to the solar system. It’s been hard to sleep without Lance or Shiro there, but as they finish the jump, Keith can feel himself get jittery with excitement. Immediately they receive a signal, and Pidge’s face shows up on the screen. They grin gleefully. “It worked!” they exclaim.

Before any of them can answer, someone changes the camera view and a woman who looks very much like Pidge, but with fairer hair and a more narrow face appears. She blinks at the camera before going: “Is that Allura?”

“Mom, you have to call her Princess,” Pidge complains in the background, even though they’ve been the most adamant about insisting that Allura has no authority over them just because of her heritage.

“She recruited a  _ 14-year old _ – “ Colleen begins, and the camera is abruptly shut off.

Allura is blinking confusedly at the camera. “She sounded upset about my actions.”

Coran looks at Allura, who looks at Keith. See, this is especially why he misses the others. The others had always talked more than he did, and being the sole Paladin left, he constantly had to answer their questions and affirm their requests. And in situations like these, it’s difficult for Keith to explain things.

“Pidge is a genius,” he just ends up sighing. “They’re ambitious and the loss of their family members have matured them. But on Earth, a 14-year old is a child. And children on our planet don’t fight Gladiators like the Alteans do.”

Allura doesn’t answer, just looks at where the hologram was. A few hours pass, where Keith showers and puts on his only set of not-space clothes. Then the Green Lion finally calls, and Pidge’s face shows up in the Hologram. They look rejuvenated in a whole new way, their eyes bright and their grin more joyful than ever.

“I just escaped my mother,” they report. “She was trying to hijack the Green Lion.”

“Oh?” Allura says.

Soon enough, the Green Lion is in their hangar, and Keith is carrying Hunk’s, Shiro’s and his own armor in a bag in case of emergency. The idea was that the Green Lion would pick up all of the Paladins, and if things had been going well at Lance’s place, Pidge would go fetch Allura and Coran because Lance was convinced that his family would arrange a huge barbeque to get to know the other Paladins and of course, the Princess and Coran.

“So how has it been on Earth?” Keith asks as he stands behind Pidge, keeping a grip on their pilot seat even though they’re flying very carefully.  

“Good,” Pidge hums, as they type in Shiro’s coordinates. “It took my mom two days to accept that I was real. The following two days she was freaking out about what I had been up to, and these past four days she has been trying to convince me to bring her.” Despite how they try to make it sound like a hassle, their voice is warm. “At least she knows that Matt and dad are most likely alive and that Matt, at least, is free. Joined rebels and could’ve died in battle and all that jazz, but if they’re using him right, he’s probably in a lab somewhere.”

Keith nods. “Been any contact with the others?” he asks.

Pidge nods. “Shiro has been taking a lot of walks with his mom. She was pretty cool about it, and even though she’s also scared, she hasn’t tried to make him stay. Hunk has been shopping for food with his family. I think they’re pretty proud of him, as far as I understand? I’ve tried to contact Lance, but he hasn’t responded yet. Probably busy.”

“What?” Keith turns to look at them.

“Relax, his signal has been strong and he’s located near his home,” they assure him. “Besides, there hasn’t been any distress signal coming from him yet.”

Keith hums, a little worried, but Lance did say he intended to also visit his relatives in the deeper waters and that might explain the lack of response.  

It’s evening at Lake Biwa. Shiro is already standing there, a smaller woman at his side. As Keith and Pidge step out of Green, Shiro sees them and waves. They wave back, and walk towards them.

Shiro’s mother is a petite, small woman, with bony fingers grasping the bend of Shiro’s elbow. Her skin is smooth, eyes dark and stern, and her hair cut short. She’s wearing a knee-long dark grey skirt, a plum blouse and a white cardigan. She already knows Keith and smiles at him, as they near him.

“Hello,” she greets them. “Keith.” She reaches out a hand, and Keith gently grasps it with both of his hands, afraid to somehow break off her fingers. “So nice to see you again. Thank you for aiding my son for all of this time.”

Keith hesitantly smiles back. Her accent is thick, but the flow comes naturally. Keith knows that her grandfather was American or something. “Of course.”

“Take good care of him,” she continues.

Keith quickly looks at Shiro, whose face is blank, but his eyes are amused.

“I will try my best,” he replies and bows his head.

She turns to look at Pidge. “Pidge,” she says. “I’m so sorry about your family. I’ve met your brother. He is a good man, and a strong man. He will survive.”

Pidge nods once, something hard on their face.

“You’re strong to endure that feeling of loss,” she continues. “Ask my son if you ever need anything.”

Pidge nods, and Shiro hugs his mother, before they all go to the Green Lion. “Who’s next?” he asks, and like Pidge he sounds tired yet happy.

\----

Hunk is standing on the beach in a sea of bags, boxes and sacks. He has two younger sisters, three grandparents, three aunts, an uncle and his parents present with him. Most of them have his grin and sturdy build. The lights reflect down on their ebony hair, which is tied back, and the waves are loud and blue. Their skin is dark in contrast to Hunk’s; Keith doesn’t remember if Hunk always had this color or if he, like Lance, has paled down considerably since they left Earth. Keith only knows Lance had gotten pale, because the guy constantly complained about it.

It takes nearly thirty minutes to greet and chat with his family. Their English is quite good, and they’re all very friendly people and are proud of what Hunk is doing. They seem confident in his abilities, and seem a little naïve about the danger of Hunk’s work. Hunk clearly hasn’t told them how close he has gotten to die, and that’s for the better.

Afterwards, they start the long procedure of carrying the food inside: boxes with spices, corn starch, apple cider, ghee, oil, tea, sugar, coffee, dried fruits and nuts, honey, syrup, sacks of rice and flour, while Pidge only brought two heavy suitcases and Shiro brought his backpack.

“You’ll thank me once we’re floating in space again and we’ve been eating goo for months on end,” Hunk answers when Pidge complains. After nearly an hour they’re set to go, and Hunk waves goodbye to his family.

The last stop is Cuba.

“So, how have you guys been?” Shiro asks.

“It’s been so stressful,” Hunk replies. “I’ve been all over the islands to create the perfectly sized and perfectly varied stock. Most of this can last for a really long time, but I have some fresher ingredients we can eat this month. I also realized I have no idea what Alteans might be allergic to, since I forgot the bio scanner, so I hope Coran and Allura can eat most of this as well. Also, the child my sister was carrying?” His voice becomes a little more low and sad. “They named him after me.”

“They named him Hunk?” Keith asks.

There’s a moment of silence, before Hunk cracks up laughing.

“My actual name isn’t Hunk!” he laughs, holding his stomach.

“What?” Pidge says, their face falling as they look away from the windscreen. “What are you talking about?”

Hunk giggles. “It’s my mom’s pet name, which Lance adopted as a nickname.”

Why is Keith surprised that Hunk’s name isn’t actually Hunk.

“My name is Hemana,” Hunk tells them, still chuckling a little bit. “Oh, Lance is gonna have a blast with this one. I thought you at least read my file, Pidge!”

“I was focused on collecting intelligence from Garrison!” they exclaim in a mix of confusion and betrayal.

Hunk giggles all the way to Varadero Beach. Lance’s house is huge and visibly old, probably around built in 2000. It’s made out of wood, and is constructed almost like a farm. A tall fence surrounds the place, but from the air they can see that the front yard is a huge herb garden. On the sides of the farm grow large bushes and the backyard is basically just the coast. The farm has two floors and a huge porch, and a smaller side building, that looks like a barn. The coastline is pretty much empty on this part of the town, and the other houses, looking much more modern and much smaller, are placed further away from the coastline, giving the farm a wide berth of privacy.

“Figures they wouldn’t fear floods,” Hunk notices.

Shiro shakes his head. “Even if they’re unable to drown, Cuba still has a moderate risk of tsunamis. They should fear their house breaking down at least, and burying them in rubble.”

“Yeah, and they lead human lives, right?” Pidge agrees. “It’d be expensive to replace all of their stuff in case of a flood.”

When they land the Green Lion on a more solitary part of the beach, the large prints are unmistakable in the sand.

They jump out of the Lion, and Pidge hums in confusion as they draw up their hologram from a wristwatch. That’s new. “Weird. Lance isn’t located in the house.”

“He probably forgot the time,” Hunk says, his usual overbearing self. But Keith does not like any bit of this. “Let’s just go knock.”

“I don’t know,” Keith says, crossing his arms. “All of this doesn’t seem right. Lance hasn’t called any of you one single time during this week, and even though he knows we’re arriving today, he hasn’t come to greet us.”

Hunk looks at Pidge’s radar. “He’s moving though, and the armor reports back healthy life signs.”

“But why would he even be wearing the armor?” Shiro asks. “This is his home.”

“Probably to appear cool to his siblings?” Hunk guesses.

Pidge draws out a scale of some sort, and swipes through the numbers. “Keith is right. He hasn’t taken off the suit since we’ve gotten here. See?” They show them the numbers. “Normally the armor will stop monitoring once the armor is taken off.”

At this information Hunk’s brows curl in worry, and he nods.

Shiro crosses his arms. “Alright, we must take precautions then. Hunk and Pidge, you are the better swimmers, take the Green Lion and track Lance’s signal as quickly as possible.”

“What?” Keith exclaims. “I wanna go look for Lance!”

“Sorry, Keith, but if a threat is here I’ll need you more, and your Bayard isn’t as useful in the water as Hunk and Pidge’s,” Shiro firmly says as Keith  _ boils _ . “You’re more useful on land.”

“So is Pidge!” Keith argues. “At least they have talked with his family on the phone, and so have Hunk!”

“That was for like two minutes, dude,” Pidge says, sounding impatient. “Though I do think they’ll open up quicker if Hunk is with you, I doubt they have the information we need. It seems like Lance hasn’t left the water since we dropped him off. In the worst case scenario they’re in a danger, and it’s your combat skills that will be needed.”

Keith seethes, but can’t exactly argue, so he doesn’t say anything as Shiro nods them off and Hunk and Pidge run back towards the Green Lion.

\----

In the Castle Allura looks up as the armor of the blue armor sends a distress signal. She ends her call with the Olkari, and stands up to draw up a video feed, but the armor isn’t replying. The distress signal must’ve been triggered from weakening life signs.

She tries to call the Paladins, but remembers that they’ve left the armors in the Green Lion, and the distress signal persistently drones on with no reply.

“I must leave,” Allura says, frowning. “The Galra could’ve followed us here.”

Coran skeptically frowns, but nods. “I’ll have the particle barrier ready and contact the Marmorians.”

She nods, and quickly runs to the hangar, where dozens of pods are waiting. Inhaling deeply, she jumps into the pod and takes off.

\----

It’s hard not to be conspicuous as Keith and Shiro near the huge house. As Lance mentioned it’s not the season for tourists, and apparently, tourists don’t really come to the poorer parts of town, aka this stretch of the beach mostly had locals on it. The sun is on its way down, as they walk near the dunes to try to be less visible. When they reach the house’s fence, Keith climbs up on Shiro’s shoulders, and notices people on the shore. A handful of teenagers are playing in the water, and older adults are sitting on a blanket on the sand. Several children are there, naked and sun-kissed and playing. They vary in age, color and gender, but they all notice the moment Keith’s head peaks up.

“They see me, let’s scram!” Keith whispers.

“What, no, don’t,” Shiro says. “Talking with them is what’s supposed to happen, remember?”’

“Then what should I do?”

“Call out for them or something?”

Keith waves awkwardly, and an elderly woman rises up from her sun lounger and walks towards them, pointing towards a small gate in the fence. Keith jumps down from Shiro’s shoulders, and they walk to the gate, where the old woman meets them. She opens the gate, and greets them in Spanish, her voice joyful and crackling with age.

“I’m sorry, Ma’am,” Shiro says and smiles sheepishly at her. “We don’t speak Spanish.”

She blinks, and her eyes become more wary. For the first time she notices Shiro’s arm, and looks at it for a moment, before she looks at Keith, who suddenly remembers that this is his first impression to a McClain family member, an older person at that.

“You lost?” she asks.

This is only becoming more unsettling. She should know who they are. In the Castle they had all agreed that while they wouldn’t exactly tell the whole wide world that they were defenders of the universe and show them their lions, their families deserved the truth. And Lance would definitely have told his family the truth. Keith looks at Shiro, whose frowning face shows that he is thinking along the same lines.

Shiro frowns, and looks at Keith, before he looks back at the elderly woman. “No, Ma’am. We’re here to talk about Lance.”

Her face immediately falls.

“Come in house,” she instructs them.

The family has quieted down and they stare at the two, as they walk inside. This isn’t making any sense; they don’t know about them, but still they seem to take their presence very seriously, yet weirdly enough none of them follow them inside. The old lady locks the door after them, and pulls down the blinds.

\----

Allura is sitting in the pod. As she had neared the water, she had turned on the water setting of it, and it’s a submarine now, ready for her to dive under any time. But something stops her: And it’s her utter fear of the water. She figured that once she reached Earth, she would be able to overcome her fear for Lance’s sake, but once she had gotten within reach, she had gotten through to the Green Lion and Hunk and Pidge had already been on their way. So her help was unnecessary, but not unwelcome. And yet, since she figured it wasn’t a life or death situation, she hasn’t been able to convince her body to make the submarine dive, and she curses her past self for avoiding training with Lance in the water, well knowing it was a rare chance to try and overcome her irrational fear.

The core of the issue is that Altea hadn’t been a water planet. It had been green and flourished with flowers growing year round, but like the Alteans, the plants didn’t need a lot of water to sustain and grow. Instead, the plants mostly depended on their star, the groundwater and compost. There had been plenty of lakes and springs, but they were never more than knee-deep. And it didn’t rain in Altea like it did on Earth. Well, if the water could be stones it did.

There’s also the factor that Allura can’t swim. Her armor would do most of the work in case she left her pod. Without it she would surely drown, and the thought of her feebleness is slightly humiliating. 

She sighs, and opens the roof to climb out. If her father had seen her now, he would be disappointed. Keith and Pidge weren’t even great swimmers, and they did fine. It had looked so easy and besides, her armor would still do the majority of the work.

She stills as she feels eyes on her, and looks around at the dark blue waters. Now that she really looks, it has the same color of Lance’s eyes.

There’s a head on top of the water. The hair is long and dark and looks like spilled ink. The skin has a taupe complexion; like Lance’s, but greyer. But the eyes assure her that she’s making no mistake: The girl in the water owns the same pair of big blue eyes as Lance.

Allura is about to speak, when the girl straightens. Now that the rest of the face is visible, the likeness is astounding. She must be related to Lance.

But then the girl opens her mouth and starts to sing.

\-----

“Figures that Lance couldn’t stop himself from getting into trouble,” Pidge complains as she restlessly navigates Green through the waters. It’s not even that dark, and the water is clear for the most part, even as it looks royal blue in the distance.

“He wouldn’t do it on purpose,” Hunk distantly answers as his eyes scan the waters. “He’s been talking about seeing his family non-stop since Allura told us we could go home.”

“I’m not saying he did it on purpose,” Pidge says, obviously annoyed. “It’s just his luck –  _ fuck! _ ”

Green abruptly stops, and Pidge draws up the radar.

“This is not where his signal is coming from,” Hunk notices, looking at the radar.

Pidge pauses. “Lance is cold-blooded, so the infrared camera wouldn’t be able to pick him up. However, Green insists that there’s someone here we should be aware of.”

Hunk tilts his head. “If he’s here, the camouflage won’t trick him. His sonar wouldn’t miss us.”

Pidge sighs, and throws themselves back in the pilot seat. “What do we do now?” 

They try to call Shiro, but he’s not picking up.

Green doesn’t seem very adamant to actually telling them exactly what she senses, so deciding that Lance’s distress signal is more important, they continue their mission.

\----

Keith isn’t exactly sure about what’s happening, but as Shiro introduces himself and Keith, he notices rapid movement through a crack in the blinds. He goes to the window as Shiro tries to inform grandmother McClain that they’re here for Lance.

Outside Keith sees an older woman in the group grab two of the children, hoisting them over her hips and running towards the water. Behind her follows another man, bigger and thick with muscle, holding three bags as he follows him.

“Shiro,” Keith calls out and Shiro interrupts his conversation to go see what Keith is looking at.

“Where –“ Shiro begins and turns and Keith has time to see the lady stand with a bat, before Shiro is promptly hit in the head.

He falls down flat, and Keith ducks as the grandmother surprisingly fast swings at him too.

“Wait, you don’t understand – “ Keith starts, but promptly freezes when he sees another middle-aged man stand at the door, a shotgun pointed at Keith. Keith slowly raises his hands, knowing that without his armor or Lion, he might as well not try to fight this. If he gets worked up enough Red will come and that would be very Bad. “Wait, this is all a misunderstanding,” Keith starts. “We’re friends of Lance – “

“My son is dead!” the man shouts, his hands shaking and eyes red.

\-----

The thrall pumps heavy in Allura’s body, her head dizzy and her mind full of smoke as she can’t help but near the girl in the water. Distantly Allura notices that she’s wearing a white dress. It doesn’t have any straps, and forms to the girl’s body.

Allura nears the girl, and the girl’s arms are inviting. Allura trusts the girl as her hands grasp Allura’s, and pulls the Princess down.

Underneath the water Allura sees that the skirt of the dress is long and loose. The fabric is translucent, and floats around the girl’s tail.

The girl smiles at her, and her teeth are long and sharp. Allura reaches out for an embrace, even as her lungs are already squeezing.

\-----

“Did you hear that?” Hunk asks.

“Yes,” Pidge answers.

The noise comes again.

“It’s another ship,” Pidge informs.

“It’s a submarine,” Hunk says, squinting through the blue.

As they get closer, they can’t help but notice that the submarine is failing, and as soon as the water gets less murky, it becomes apparent why: Dozens of Mer are viciously attacking it with rocks and debris, dunking into the glass repeatedly.

“What the Quiznack,” Pidge says. “They’re trying to drown the humans inside!”

Before they can defend the submarine, two sharp figures shoot out from underneath Green’s belly, quickly going to join the massive attack.

“Are you kidding me, Green?” Pidge shrieks as they hurry towards the submarine. “They’ve been swimming under you all this time, and you couldn’t have explicitly told – “

“Pidge,” Hunk interrupts. “The signal is coming from the inside of that submarine. They’re not attacking. They’re retrieving.”

\----

“Listen.” Keith’s voice is shaking. Give him Zarkon and Galra and he wouldn’t even break a sweat, but there’s just something really special about humans and their guns that awakes a certain kind of horror in Keith. Add in the fact that Keith really can’t hurt this man, and the situation becomes a lot trickier than what Keith is used to.

“Lance is alive,” Keith slowly says. “Please lower your gun, and let me explain.”

Why, why, why did the Grandma knock down Shiro and not him? Shiro is an excellent diplomat and negotiator. Keith doesn’t have a good way with words. They always come out too hesitant, or too sharp, and always insufficient when it comes down to it.

“I told you people not to use my boy against me,” Lance’s father says, his voice shaking.

Keith swallows. “Look at the man on the floor. That’s Takashi Shirogane, the pilot that went missing two years ago. I’m Keith Kogane – I shared a few classes with your son on the Garrison.”

Now the two McClain family members are narrowing their eyes at him.

“Lance and I never talked, until the night where Shiro crash-landed on Earth,” Keith continues, his talk hurried and desperate. “I and Lance and Pidge and Hunk got there to save Shiro. The Garrison were doing a cover-up, so we all had to retreat.”

“I swear if you’re lying – “

“I’m not, I swear,” Keith says. “We’ve been spending the past year together, all of us. Lance likes to swim and loves the stars, he has dry skin with an oily T-zone, loves garlic knots and burgers, and loves playing with children – “

“That’s enough,” the grandmother interrupts. “Pedro, put the gun down. He’s not lying.”

“Turn over your friend, so I can see his face,” Pedro says, his shotgun not wavering.

Keith bows down and rolls Shiro over. Shiro groans a little bit. But even with the scar and hair color change, the resemblance is too strong to be easily written off.

Pedro slowly lowers the gun. He’s sweating and his eyes are wet. “Is Lance…? We were told he and his friends got lost in the desert, died of dehydration and their bodies were eaten by scavengers. They only gave us bones.”

Keith swallows at the image of half-rotten bodies too decayed and eaten to recognize. “No. Lance has been with us for all of this time. We delivered him here a week ago – we finally had the permission to come see our families – that’s why we’re here, to pick him up. But he never showed up, did he?”

Pedro looks torn up, like he doesn’t know what to believe, but the Grandmother seems calmer. She says something to Pedro in Spanish, and Keith thinks he can hear her mention Lola’s name, before they turn to him.

Shiro is blinking awake, staring up at them. “Keith…?”

\-----

Before Pidge can even attempt to interfere, one of the Mer succeeds in tearing a hole into the submarine, and soon the other gather in a clump, tearing at the hole until the water is pouring in. A moment later they hear a loud groaning sound, and then the bridge of the submarine is split open. The Mer tear off the rest of it, and after long moments where the Mer curiously look inside, Lance comes swimming out, holding a smaller Mer underneath his arm.

Immediately their take the Mer off him, and Hunk looks at Pidge who looks at Hunk.

“So, you wanna swim out there?” Hunk nervously asks.

“Nuh-uh,” Pidge quickly shoots the idea down. “I’m piloting, remember?”

Hunk sighs heavily, before groaning and exiting the Lion.

Pidge watches him swim over to the clot and immediately the Mer flock around him. Pidge grabs their helmet, and hears the distant clicks of the Mer, as Lance quickly reassures them about Hunk.

“What the Hell happened?” Pidge asks as Lance and Hunk enter Green.

“Fucking humans, that’s what,” Lance complains, pulling off his helmet. The smell he exceeds is downright awful, and Pidge groans and pinches their nose. “They’re kidnapping merpeople. I’ve spent the past week getting them back.”

“So you really haven’t been home at all?” Hunk asks.

Lance’s face falls.

“What are we going to do about that?” Pidge asks, and points at the submarine.

“I deleted the evidence already,” Lance says. “Let’s scram, it’s not that far too swim. Or they can drown, I don’t care.”

Hunk and Pidge stare at him in silence, but Lance’s face is harsh and distant. In the end they don’t say anything, and when the Mer have fled, Green swims towards the surface. Lance is sitting on the floor, his arms around his knees. Pidge activates the cloaking shield before they break the surface.

\----

“So what you’re saying,” Pedro slowly says, “is that there’s an alien race out there who abducted the people on the Kerberos Mission, and that you,” he looks at Shiro who’s pressing a bag of frozen peas onto the back of his head, “are the only one to escape.”

“Yes,” Keith confirms, feeling exhausted. Lance’s mother, Sofia, is sitting besides Pedro, her hands kludged tight on her lap. Pedro had went to the ocean at some point, and called out for them, and the younger children are upstairs with the adults, having a shower, while the younger adults hasn’t shown up yet. “Pidge’s older brother and father were with him. We’ve been looking for them, while directing attacks at the Galra and freeing the enslaved planets.”

Lance’s mother says something in Spanish, and Pedro nods at her, and looks at Shiro and Keith. “She asks how come this supposedly blue Lion picked Lance, and not you.”

Keith sighs, his hands sweaty around the hot mug of tea in his hands.

“The Lions all have different quintessences, and Lance’s quintessence mirrored Blue’s,” Shiro replies. “She’s also the most friendly Lion, so that might have something to do with it. She accepts new Paladins quicker.”

Pedro translates to his wife, who frowns darkly at them. She hasn’t stopped crying at any point, and Keith can’t help but feel uncomfortable.

“We had to come here with Pidge’s Lion,” Shiro continues when Pedro is done. “Pidge installed a cloaking shield on it, so we could land on Earth undetected. We can’t involve Earth in this war. Earth might complicate things further, and humans don’t deal well with stress. Besides that, technologically wise, there’s not a lot humans can do.”

“Shiro,” Keith says, and points outside. It has started raining, so it’s easy to see the void where the rain doesn’t hit as Green flies over the water. She lands right outside the fence, and it’s not long before Green’s mouth opens.

Lance and Hunk come stumbling out. Lance’s eyes are narrowing in the sunlight as he pulls his helmet off. There’s a gash on his forehead and he looks pretty disoriented.

Then Sofia makes a sound that frankly could not be human. It seemed too much like a trill  and Lance’s head snaps towards the house. Sofia leaves the house, and Lance starts running, and they slam together on the porch. Her body drops like her strength has left her, and he holds her tight as they fall. Soon, Pedro joins them and Keith can hear their voices speaking loudly.

Hunk carefully steps inside, and when he sees them, he frowns. “Where’s the Princess?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: I want to say this in advance, but I'm sorry about the slaughter I might do to Cuba culture in this story. Seeing that the Voltron Universe is in the future, I've taken a few liberties in world-building, but I am neither Hispanic nor Latin-American, so ... yeah, if there's anything you want to correct or might want to lecture me on, go ahead


	6. Equals One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He can’t just travel light years away. Away from his family, away from the situation they’re standing in. Humans are kidnapping merpeople, and he’s better equipped to handle it than any of them are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so... hey  
> sorry for the long break, i guess?   
> i honestly feel like nothing is happening feedback-wise in this fic, so i've chosen to prioritize other projects ^^  
> imma just drop this rather short chapter :)

Lance is anxiously waiting for his team to get into contact with the Princess, but as he sits and waits with his parents, it becomes evident that the Princess isn’t able to pick up. He has a weird feeling in his gut. It’s not outright fear or pain, but rather an anxiety for what’s to come and a worry for what’s going on. He knows that the feelings aren’t his, so it doesn’t surprise him when Pedro and Jamelia start treading water, not bringing Lola in tow.

Lance runs towards them. They already know about him being alive, since he had been communicating with them while in the submarine, but he still can’t help but hug them for too long.

“Lance,” Keith says behind Lance, and steps forwards. “Can you ask them about the Princess?”

Pedro and Jamelia stare blankly at Keith, before Jamelia mutters: “Shit. Lola.”

They track the Princess’ pod, and find it floating on the water surface, but there’s no Princess in it. Lance stands on top of the pod, breathing quickly, before directing his teammates to close their ears. So Lance begins to sing:

“ _I heard there was a secret chord_

_that David played and it pleased the Lord_

_But you don’t really care for music do you?_

_Well it goes like this, the fourth, the fifth_

_The minor fall_

_The major lift_

_The baffled king composing Hallelujah_.”

He tries to broadcast his feelings. _Please come I’m scared for somebody._

At his third hallelujah, he hears Lola’s husky crooning voice join him. It’s hard to hear since the rain has gotten heavier, but the feeling of worry and anxiety in his stomach turns into overwhelming relief and joy, and he just knows she has heard him. She quickly sends him a reassuring feeling, and he knows with surety that the Princess is alright. He quiets at the fourth hallelujah, but she continues the contact as her voice comes closer.

“ _Well, baby I’ve been here before_

 _I’ve seen this room, and I’ve walked this floor_.

_I used to be alone before I knew you_

_Well, I’ve seen your flag on the marble arch_

_And love is not_

_a victory march._

_It’s a cold, and it’s a broken Hallelujah_.”

By the end of the verse, Lance can’t wait any longer and leaves his teammates. He clicks apologetically as he dives into the waters. And finally he sees her, swimming quickly towards him.

The dress he bought her for her 17th birthday floats around her tail, and makes her look like a white lily. She has Lance’s cinnamon skin, narrow nose and pointy chin. Her eyes are big like Lance’s, and eyebrows curve the same soft arch. About a meter away from each other, she abruptly stops just to stare at him. The water is dark because of the cloudy skies, but their eyes are made to see through. She stares at him, before putting her hand on her mouth. Her brows drop and she reaches out for him.

Their reunion, unlike the one with Lance’s parents, is silent. Their arms wrap around each other’s necks, and their tails braid together. Lance would sob if he had been using his lungs. For now they just keep sending and echoing feelings of each other, and it’s weird how it feels like they’re catching up as they do so.

And Lance comes to a scary conclusion: One thing was leaving Earth involuntarily and enduring the homesickness. But how was he ever supposed to live without Lola again?

\----  
Apparently Lola hadn’t been ready to kill the Princess, especially when she saw her ears, but she also hadn’t known what to do with her, so she had knocked her out the and given her the ability to breathe afterwards. Lance and Lola find her sleeping body in an old ship wreck. They need healing pods for Shiro’s concussion, Lance’s gash and to check if the Princess is really alright, but Lola is not willing to let them all go, so Hunk and Keith end up going back to the house with her.

It barely takes an hour for both Lance and Shiro to be fixed up, and Lance can’t even focus on his boyfriend as he feels like he’s about to crack with the nervous energy and anxiety he can’t totally blame on Lola. Lance asked himself how he was ever supposed to live without Lola. And it might scare make some people wonder, even scare some people, but the truth is, that he was never really without Lola.

\-----

Back in the house, with the addition of the newly bathed children and adults, chaos truly unfolds. Lance’s family is loud and plenty around the Paladins and Coran and Allura. Their skill in English varies, but good intentions are easy to translate and his team seems content and not too overwhelmed with the attention. They’re all hovered over, and sent to the showers one by one. The house has four bathrooms, all with tubs, so Pidge and Allura and Keith and Lance end up going first. Thankfully, Keith seems too nervous to think about Lance being naked, so there’s no funny business. When they walk out in their bathrobes, fresh floral-smelling clothes are waiting for them on their beds. The house is just as old and creaky as Lance remembers, but it’s clean and well maintained.

On the way down to the kitchen, Lance’s attacked by his four cousins and two younger siblings. The adults have held them all back, but now they throw themselves at Lance with vicious accuracy. Lance can’t do anything but laugh as the children pretend to be knights and attack him with fists, beach toys and a single broken doorknob. They’re not really old enough to understand how Lance is suddenly here when he’s supposed to be dead, but thankfully they don’t question him.

When Lance has finally admitted defeat, and turns around to talk to Keith, he sees that Lance’s cousin, Maria, who had barely been crawling when he last saw her on Skype, has been picked by Keith. Keith doesn’t seem to like it though, throwing the toddler in his arms nervous glances. Maria looks sleepy, a pacifier in her mouth and legs bare in her bodysuit. Lance exclaims her name in glee, and she barely reacts, probably because she doesn’t remember him and doesn’t understand why he’s so happy to see her. She holds out her arms for him though, which means exactly nothing has changed since she had been a baby. Lance takes her from Keith’s arms and jiggles her. She giggles with delight.

“You and me and Shiro one day,” Lance says to Keith and kisses Maria on her head. Keith looks mildly horrified. Lance probably shouldn’t find that endearing.

The smell coming from downstairs is too good to ignore for long though, and eventually Maria’s mother, Carin, comes to look for her baby and drags them downstairs. In the living room, the pillows have been taken off the couches, and put on the floor and besides the pillows, there are also sitting pillows, so everyone has a soft place to sit on the floor. Big plates of food are on the sofa table, and the smell is _mouthwatering_. The other Paladins are already there, and Keith and Lance go to sit around a flushed Shiro. His family is generously filling up the Paladins’ plates, and Coran barely has time to scan it for toxins to Alteans stomachs before they urge him to eat. The living room only becomes louder with noise when the children come to join them. Lola sits down besides him, warm and glowing and everything is perfect.

Lance, happy and excited with all of the attention, soon introduces the Paladins one by one to his family and the family to the Paladins as they all eat. Afterwards, Lance has eaten so much his stomach hurts and he leans into Lola’s side. Lance smiles at the ceiling, but his smile is small and his lids are lowered. He feels like he’s in a dream he will wake up from anytime soon. He pinches himself to test reality, but he really is here. He survived. And he doesn’t know if he will survive a year from here, but at least he has gotten closure.

\----

Keith looks out of the window for the 77th time. Shiro is calm behind him. His eyes are red and he needs to sleep, but they’re waiting for Lance. He’s outside with Lola. Behind Shiro, sits the Grandpa of the family, wearing a dark green robe and is vaping. As far as Keith has understood it, Grandpa and Grandma are Lance’s mother’s parents. Grandma is a human, and it was actually Grandpa who brought the Mer gene into the family. Sofia married Pedro, who was also a merman, and together they had Lance and Lola.

Who’re just… lying on the sand out there. The sky is full of stars above them, and they’re not saying a word, which is creepy as hell.

“They were always a special pair,” Grandpa says, noticing Keith keeping an eye on them. “The only Mer twins to existed, as far as we know.”

Shiro turns his head, and looks at Grandpa. “There’ve never been twins before among you?”

The elder shrugs. “Not as far as the Mer we know, knows.”

Keith looks away from the window. “Couldn’t it be because you’re so human?”

Grandpa shrugs. “Could be.”

Outside Lola suddenly rolls and curls into a ball. She starts to cry. Lance rolls as well, and spoons her body as she sobs.

“It wasn’t good for her when Lance disappeared,” Grandpa says. “Four days after they confirmed his death, she even had a heart attack. She’s been in poor health since.”

Lance keeps comforting her, until she eventually turns and looks at him. And then they do it again. Just … stop. And stare at each other. Like someone put them on pause.

\-----

While Lola has gone inside, Lance stays on the sand. There’s a lump in his throat, and he blinks quickly not to cry. Their conversation made him realize that he can’t just leave. Lola needs him. She’s not healthy; he can feel her starvation in the pit of his stomach. Her loneliness. It matches the ache he has been dealing with for the year he was gone. They’re made from the same water, and now they've finally reestablished their connection. Can he bear to have it torn once again?

He can’t just travel light years away. Away from his family, away from the situation they’re standing in. Humans are kidnapping merpeople, and he’s better equipped to handle it than any of them are. The Mer doesn’t have anyone to call for, anyone to protect them. The Mer have no advocates, no policemen, no rights or law to protect them, they always only had themselves. They have always been vulnerable like that. Yeah, if Lance went to space now, there was a greater possibility that Earth would be safe. But he’s not solely in space to protect Earth, he’s also there to protect his family. And if he leaves?

No one else will.


	7. Family

Lance wakes up at 7 AM when he hears the music from the other side of the house. For a moment he feels like crying, the dream feeling so real he knows it’s going to be painful once he wakes up.

But then he registers the smell of salt in his nose, hears the sound of rolling waves.

He sits up. Keith, Shiro and Hunk are sleeping on the floor, Keith sleeping on Sophia’s bed, and Shiro sleeping on the mattress besides Carlos’ bed. Carlos woke them up several times during the night, having to pee and blow his nose and for some reason he accepted no other but Shiro to follow him through the dark hallway. Lance had felt a little guilty at letting Shiro do it at first, but if he had been 10 years old and he could pick between his skinny big brother and a ripped cyborg soldier?

He wouldn’t have chosen himself either.

He sits up, and Keith twitches as if he notices the difference already. It’s been a while since Keith didn’t get up at 6 to train, and Lance wants him to enjoy it as long as possible.

Sliding his slippers on, he leaves the room. The house is almost empty; his aunties already took the kids out to the pol, and he assumes his uncles must’ve gone with them.

When he opens the door to the studio, he sees that the light floods the room. Lola is standing at the wall, holding the ballet barre while doing plies.

She knew he was on his way since he woke up, and the leggings and tank top are laid out for him. He drinks from her water bottle as she continues the plies like she hasn’t seen him, before sliding the clothes on. He walks up to her, the floor warm underneath his feet and she sends him a glance over her shoulder. He sits down besides her and stretches. She finishes her plies and joins him in stretching, though she probably already did it.

“How’s dancing?” Lance asks and feels a little ridiculous that it’s been over a day and he hasn’t even thought of catching up before now.

“I don’t dance anymore,” Lola answers.

“What?” He stares incredulously at her.

“I’m sick,” she says, but he already guessed that. When she stretches, her ribs protrude through the fabric of her leotard.

He swallows. “What sickness?” he asks quietly.

She shrugs. “They don’t know. I can’t train like I did before. It get tired too easily, and my stomach won’t accept a lot of foods.”

“What?” Lance exclaims a little more frightened.

“I had a heart attack too,” she adds, knowing it’s only making him feel worse. “They say it’s in my head. That it’s psychosomatic.”

Lance can’t believe what he’s hearing. He stands up and starts to do plies at the wall, trying to figure out what to say as she scans through his feelings. They used to dance together, back before he travelled to the States. Ballet, hip-hop, tango, modern, there was no dance they didn’t master and that didn’t bore them far too quickly. He had loved it, but had just loved the stars more. Lola had wanted to do it professionally though, and Lance had always supported her.

“So what do you do know?” Lance asks.

“Modeling, mostly, some networking that comes with,” Lola answers.

“And the fighting?” Lance asks.

“Pretty sure I could still kick both of your boyfriends’ asses,” she replies and Lance isn’t even surprised.

“How long?” he asks.

“Since I saw them on the boat with you,” Lola answers. “Is that why you don’t intend to stay with us?”

“Lola. Believe me when I say that if I could’ve stayed, I would.”

She doesn’t answer, but he can feel her like a hurricane in his chest, anxious, angry and worried. She walks to the stereo, and turns it on. The music is techno classical, a genre they always loved practicing to.

He’s pretty rusty, but at least in shape, and after having fallen several times, he finally gets in sync with her. They slide into a rhythm, a smooth synchronization that made their fellow students envious. It had been weird to do couple duets back then, so they mostly practiced duets that were actually made for two ballerinas.

As the music list plays and changes from purely classical to dub-step to pop, so does their style. Their tense moment evaporates as they dance, too focused on matching each other’s moves to think. Their water pours into each other’s, and Lance forgets himself.

And then the music is suddenly turned off, and they startle so much they almost tumble.

Confused they look at the stereo, where Allura is standing. She’s still wearing her nightgown, which is pretty unusual, and a silk robe on top, hair loose and silky as it falls down her back.

“As much as I take pleasure in your dance,” she says, “your toes are bleeding all over the floor.”

Lance, realizing he’s dripping with sweat, looks down and sees that his toes are indeed bleeding. Normally ballet doesn’t really do this kind of damage to him, but since he’s been going on pointe a lot more than a male ballet dancer should, and on top of that without pointe shoes, it has done damage.

Lola, who actually went on pointe a lot more than him, is already sporting blisters and broken nails. She looks at her feet just as much in surprise as him, and then starts to laugh.

“Sick,” they hear behind them, and they turn.

Pidge is sitting on the floor, eating from a bowl of cornflakes. “You practiced that beforehand?”

“Some of it,” Lance vaguely answers. “It’s mostly freestyle though.”

“No way,” Pidge says.

“Impossible,” Allura says, even more appalled. “Your bodies matched to the microsecond and when you danced in duets, your moves complimented each other perfectly.”

He feels a pinch of panic, and feels it become stifled by Lola’s cool control.

“You don’t think my brother is able to, Princess?” she coolly asks Allura, stepping up to her and crossing her arms.

Lance doesn’t miss the way Allura’s eyes flicker down Lola’s dewy arms, and a sweet smell hits him. For a second he almost doesn’t recognize it, but then he realizes that it’s coming from Allura and it smells a whole lot of attraction.

Of course Lola notices it right away too, and she tilts her head a little bit and lowers her lashes, smiling softly as she meets the Princess’ eyes.

He immediately sends her a feeling of alarm, but she pushes it away.

“Did you like the dance?” Lola asks, honey sweet when she wants to be.

“It was beautiful,” Allura answers after having cleared her throat. “But nothing beautiful is worth damaging your body.”

Lola lifts a brow, and smiles quickly before turning. She intentionally sends a small wind carrying her sweat’s sweet scent Allura’s way, a scent Lance knows humans react very strongly to and by the way Allura’s ears twitch, it seems to have an effect on her as well.

\----

Lance showers and goes to wake up his boyfriends. Shiro is already coming awake, seeing that Carlos has apparently imprinted on him and is actually leaning his small body against Shiro’s stomach, drawing on a doodle board.

“Why are you not in the pool?” Lance asks Carlos, kneeling down beside him to look at the drawing.

“I don’t wanna go to the pool,” Carlos replies. He’s drawing what appears to be a man on a horse with a sword raised to the sky. “I wanna swim in the ocean.”

“You know you can’t do that,” Lance replies. “Humans are looking for us.”

“But Shiro said he would protect me,” Carlos insists, like Lance is missing an obvious point.

“Is that true?” Lance asks Shiro, automatically falling back to English as he meets Shiro’s sleepy eyes. “You’re gonna make sure Carlos isn’t hurt by the humans?”

Shiro nods very seriously. “I swore a knight’s oath.”

“Oh?”

“Yes.” Shiro starts to sit up, careful to not rustle Carlos too much as he does it.

Lance stands back up, and goes to the bed where Keith is still sleeping quite deeply.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Lance sing-songs and strokes Keith’s arm. “It’s time to get up, mama is making breakfast.”

Keith opens a bleary eye at him and sighs deeply. Then he reaches out a hand, and Lance thinks he needs help to sit up, but instead Keith pulls him into the bed.

Lance yelps as he falls on top of him, and Keith smiles against his neck.

“You lazy kitten,” Lance says and pokes Keith in the side. “We need to get up.”

“No,” Keith groans. “It’s so warm and comfortable.”

Lance blows a raspberry into Keith’s neck and the other giggles. There’s a deep earthy scent to Keith today, and Lance wonders how long it will be before his … needs are going to have to be fulfilled.

“Come on,” Lance slaps Keith’s arm and sits up. “The rest of the team is already up. We need to set the table, or are you going to be impolite to my mom?”

Immediately Keith sits up. “What’s the clock anyway?”

“9 am,” Lance answers.

“ _What_?” Keith exclaims and Shiro chuckles. “How did that happen?”

Lance shrugs.

Downstairs Hunk is helping his mother with breakfast, both of them chatting through mostly body language and Lola and Allura are already seated close to each other. Lola is flirting unabashedly, and despite how Allura is wearing a polite expression, the scent of attraction is still clear in the air and their mother is shooting them looks now and then.

“Lola,” Lance says, a little sharply. “Help mama set the table.”

Lola pretends nothing is wrong, and puts a hand on Allura’s shoulder as she gets up, smiling.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing,” Lance whispers to her in Spanish once they’re washing some extra dishes at the sink.

“What?” Lola says, a little lazily. “She’s cute. The two of us have always had the same taste.”

“What exactly do you think is going to happen if the two of you start something?” he hisses. Because Lola will succeed, no matter how hard Allura will try to resist. She always got what she wanted. As bad as she is at maintaining relationships, she had always been the ultimate stereotype of a siren when it comes to wrapping people around her little finger.

“Nothing,” Lola answers. “I’m just having a little bit of fun.”

“Not with the Princess,” Lance snaps. “You have no idea what she’s been through. You’re not playing with her feelings, Lola.”

“Oh my god, relax, you’re not her big brother,” Lola answers, beginning to anger a little bit. “She’s a grown woman who can make her own decisions. Who says she’ll become attached to me?”

Lance steps into her space. “Her entire family, her entire race, was murdered while she was sleeping. She woke up alone, okay. She can’t afford to lose anybody else.”

At that Lola does start to feel a little bad, but anger quickly takes over. She’s always been more prone to anger, where he’s prone to becoming hurt. “You know she wants the lot of you to leave, today, you know that, right?” she asks. “Even if we’re in danger, she expects you to come with her. Am I supposed to sympathize with that kind of behavior?”

Lance feels a lump in his throat, and he looks over his shoulder. Allura’s ears are twitching in their direction, but the translator shouldn’t be working on anything but global languages and because Earth doesn’t have a global language, but in fact hundreds, the translator doesn’t pick them up.

“I’ll talk to her, okay?” Lance says, clearing his throat. “I’m not leaving without being sure all of you are safe, okay?”

She looks at him and he feels her doubt and he hates himself for feeling hurt about it. She feels his hurt, and opens her arms. He walks into them, and they embrace.

“I believe in you,” Lola says. “If you have to go, then that is life. But please. We’re scared. The kids don’t even go to kindergarten anymore, because the humans are showing up there now too.”

“I’ll figure something out.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> quickly dropping a short chap. sorry for the wait. I just want to say ive read the comments about the continuation of this story, and since Hymnless is done and this story has been open long enough as it is, i will be focusing on posting more regularly and often

”Of course,” Allura says.

”Really?” Lance asks, shoulders not quite relaxing yet.

“Yes,” Allura says. “I have a duty to protect everyone in the universe, and that includes a targeted minority.”

Coran nods in agreement like this was the plan all along.

“Someone has to be on guard though,” Allura answers. “We have to have a team ready in case we get a distress call.”

“Of course,” Lance nods quickly, feeling his body slump with relief. He looks at his shoes, and then at his hands, sun baking his back through the window. “Thank you, Princess, it really means a lot.”

She smiles reassuringly at him, and puts her hand on his shoulder.

“I’m going to call for a meeting with the team,” she says. “Call your parents. We’re making a plan.”

Hunk is the quickest to come, helping Lance’s mother with dinner. Pidge is talking with their mom, and hangs up after a while. Shiro is doing a parameter check, and oddly enough Keith comes in last, looking a little flushed, probably wrapping up training. They all gather in the living after some time, and it’s not long before his parents call his uncles and aunts. Lance and Lola sits in-between their parents, as Allura listens to his family explaining their everyday life and routines, and where the risks of abduction are especially high. After a while his uncles and aunts join in, and Allura carefully writes down the names of the places where Lance’s family are afraid to go.

“Alright,” she sighs after a while. “Shiro, the kids love you. If the kindergarten and school are all in the same building, you will escort them to that institution and guide it. We’re not letting this ruin their lives. If we keep their lives on pause, it will raise suspiciousness and there is a higher probability they will attack where you are safe instead of in the public. Pidge, your main job is to identify and locate these people and gather all the information you can. Hunk, you feel secure in the water and I trust you to keep an eye out on the waters. Lance, you will be watching the house for intruders. You have my permission to capture or kill if they get hostile. We will be focusing mainly on surveillance and information gathering for now. We need to see how much of the government is involved in this, before we make a plan of attack. Any objections?”

“Yes,” Lance’s uncle says. “What if people recognize him?” He points at Shiro. “Wouldn’t him guarding the children only draw more attention to our family?”

“That’s not necessarily a bad thing,” Shiro says. “If you isolate yourself, you will gain negative attention and suspicion of your neighborhood. If people see that you’ve had to hire a bodyguard and that you’re in danger, that attention will turn positive and you will gain the help and eyes of the community. Concerning my appearance, it has changed a lot, but if it helps you, I will do something about it.”

His uncle nods in satisfaction.

“I will call the children’s teachers and let them know,” his aunt says and gets up.

Lola looks at Lance, upset brewing in her stomach, and Lance tries to send back vibes of sweet healing. She looks down at her lap and bites her lip, and Lance takes her hand and clenches it.

“What about Lola’s modeling?” Lance asks.

His twin immediately shakes her head. “They won’t hurt me in the public eye.”

“No, I want someone to be with you,” Lance insists looking at the Princess.

Lola glares at him.

Lance looks at Allura.

“I will go,” Allura volunteers. “Keith, you will be surveying the Castle and make sure that no Galra come within the solar system.”

His boyfriend nods.

Lance feels the smug feeling of delight coil in Lola’s stomach, and he narrows his eyes at Allura. Wouldn’t it make more sense for her to watch the Castle and for Keith to guard Lola?

Lola ignores his feelings of irritation. “I actually have to go in 30 minutes.”

“Good,” Allura says, the smell of nervous excitement tainting the air.

“I don’t know if going with Lola is a good idea,” his father thankfully breaks in. “Wouldn’t it look suspicious?”

“Not at all,” Lola says. “I’ll just say she’s a fellow model. After all, the Princess certainly got the looks for it.”

Allura’s cheeks burn.

“Lance, go help Keith set up the equipment,” Allura orders, and a gleaming smile unfolds on Lola’s lips.

Lance looks helplessly at his sister.

\----

It’s awkward and silent as Lance and Keith fly to the Castle. Lance can smell Keith’s worry, and his own mind is filled to the brink with thoughts about his family. Even though he has the team’s support, he’s mystified by how ready Allura was to leave, knowing the problems his family had. He’s concerned with how determined Lola is to seduce Allura, having mixed feelings about her agenda. But most of all, he fears that the second he leaves, his family is going to be in danger and it’s a fear he doesn’t think will disappear even if Voltron takes care of the threat. All bodies left trails after all, especially on Earth.

“Hey,” Keith says, nudging his shoulder as they step into the empty Caste. “It’s going to be alright.”

Lance looks down at him. “I know,” he sighs, and smiles. Keith frowns. “It’s just hard, you know? It was always my family who supported me when I wanted to become a fighter pilot, you know, even though it was expensive and all that. And they really need me now, and I can’t afford to let them down.”

Keith looks at him with a considering glance. “Are you thinking about staying?” he asks.

Lance feels himself tense up. “That doesn’t make me a bad Paladin,” he quickly barks.

“Hey, I didn’t say that,” Keith says, his voice oddly soothing and he wraps his arms around Lance’s waist. “You know I don’t understand the whole… having a family thing. But I understand why you feel the way you do. I probably would feel the same if you guys stood in your family’s place. I honestly still feel bad about what I said to Pidge. It’s valid dilemma.”

Lance sighs and returns the embrace. Keith presses his face into Lance’s chest and Lance inhales his scent before placing a kiss on Keith’s forehead.

“I love you,” Lance whispers.

“Love you too,” Keith lets him know, before pulling Lance into a kiss.

Keith’s smell is comforting and earthy. There’s the faintest scent of arousal, a scent that seems to follow Keith around no matter what he does, and his body temperature is higher than usual. Actually, Lance thinks he can even smell sweat.

“Babe?” Lance asks, slipping his hands up Keith’s shirt. The skin is damp and hot. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” Keith says, his body pressing into Lance’s harder. “I just need to… feel you for a moment.”

Lance is pretty sure Keith wants more than that as Keith’s hips are starting to roll into Lance’s leg.

Lance smiles overbearingly at him, and walks backwards until his back is pressed into the wall. Keith presses into him, kissing Lance hard and Lance bends his knee so Keith has something to grind against.

It makes a shiver run down Keith’s spine, and Lance smiles against his lips. Keith writhes, as if he can’t get enough and Lance grabs him by the waistband and tugs down his pants. He tries to kneel but Keith is squeezing him to hard, and Lance ends up just using his hand to feel Keith up.

“Fuck me,” Keith whispers when he pulls away from their kiss.

Lance exhales shakily, taking a moment to think about it. “Here?”

Keith swallows. “I already… I was…”

Lance squints at him. “Were you… masturbating?”

Keith’s face reddens.

“Oh my god, where?” Lance exclaims, wondering where the hell Keith found peace to do so in the crowded house. Maybe Kolivan has given him a few tips.

“In the bathroom, after my shower,” Keith admits. “I just… I’m sorry, I –“

“Hey, don’t think about it,” Lance quickly interrupts, quickly turning Keith around so his back is against Lance’s chest. “No hickies, no bite marks, no bruises, no scratches.”

Keith whines as if Lance is saying he can't have the best things, and Lance glides his hands up his boyfriend’s shirt, cupping his marked pecs and squeezing. Keith whines, grinding his ass into Lance’s crotch.

“Promise?” Lance asks.

Keith grunts and Lance pushes Keith’s pants down further and they hit the ground. Keith turns his head and pulls Lance into another kiss as he kicks them away. Lance only lets go of Keith to take off his pants as well, and giggling they switch positions at the wall a lot until they’re completely naked. Keith’s cock is dripping and already swelling at the base, and Lance jerks it as he mouths at Keith’s chest. The thing that Lance loves about Keith when they were doing foreplay is how Keith always shook with restlessness, like the caresses are too much and too slow for him, and yet his mewls tell Lance to keep going. And then Keith fists Lance’s hair and his cock jerks in Lance’s hand. It feels like being wrangled. Lance’s hand slows down but doesn’t stop, and he clamps down gently with his teeth on Keith's nipple in response, feeling the other flinch in surprise.

But then it makes Keith start to fuck Lance’s hand harder, and Lance uses his other hand to probe around, forcing his fingers in-between Keith's clenching cheeks. Keith is wet, but tight and Lance uses the lube left to finger Keith’s ass open again as he pumps Keith's member in his hand. Keith's cock has become red and the swelling on the base is more noticeable and honestly a little weird to look at in broad daylight. 

“Okay, stand at the wall,” Lance hoarsely orders. ”Spread your cheeks for me.”

Keith throws him a heated look, before lining up and doing as Lance says. Lance gently leans into Keith’s back and is lining his dick up, when Keith suddenly growls in sudden agitation. Lance pauses and a quick movement later, Keith suddenly has Lance on the floor. Lance blinks in sheer surprise, suddenly having his butt on the cold ground. Keith is looking down at him, smirking, cock hard and looking a little triumphant. 

Dumbfounded he sees Keith lower down and straddle him, pushing Lance's back into the floor before taking Lance’s dick and nudging it against his hole like he owns it. Lance bites his lip as Keith slowly start to sink down on it, his eyes sharp and steady on Lance, and for a moment Lance can feel his own instincts awakening as if he’s feeling threatened. For a moment his heart rate becomes faster, a foreign scent fills the air and Lance feels his senses sharpen. Are...? 

But then Keith’s lids lower in something like tenderness or perhaps submission, and he throws his head back as he moans. Lance closes his eyes as well, feeling the flare of his instincts settle down.


	9. Set free

They were called the twins that danced for nobody.

Every dancer knew that they were pretty. They had to, because dance was built on the fact that they were worth viewing. Voyeurism was an essential part of dancing, just like any other art was meant for being felt, viewed or heard.

But when they danced, the world disappeared around them. Everything was about the rhythm, the fluctuation of movement, the way the music made a high. Lance’s mother always told them that their world was their own, and no one was ever truly let into it.

He’s sweating, his heart is beating, but it’s not because of the way his body moves. Anxiety courses through his veins, quick and impatient as he feels the distance between them become smaller.

He can’t go. He can’t go.

He loses balance and rolls over the ground, feeling his ankle twist. Pidge, who is sitting with their computer, looks up and turns off the music.

“Watch it, loser,” they tell him.

Lance nods, sweating. “How is the search going?”

He can’t go.

Pidge smirks confidently. “Give it another hour, and we’ll be putting these people through Hell.”

He nods, and slowly stands up. “Turn on the music.”

Pidge lifts a brow. “Your ankle is swelling as we speak.”

Lance glares at them, and walks all the way to the stereo when they don’t move. It’s a mix of RnB, classical and jazz. While Lola had always loved music full of contrasts, quickly switching gears, where one had to be alert, Lance had always liked the more harmonious melodies. He loved the slow build, the way he felt in sync with everything, how he had to – for once – learn to trust himself.

He can’t go.

For that reason, jazz ballet was always more his style. He liked his toes flat on the ground and not under his weight, thank you very much.

He’s sweating profusely, and closes his eyes to better imagine Lola in his mind, dancing right besides of him. It’s a habit he developed in space, something that has been hard to kick.

No wonder Lola the Murder Whale fooled him. He’s so easy.

But it helps nonetheless, and he thinks he can hear her light feet on the ground following his, thinks he can feel her hair glancing his arm as they pass each other.

He can’t go.

He feels his eyes get wet, his ankle throbbing.

He grabs her around the waist, and she jumps, her arm coming around the back of his neck. She kicks her legs, like a human treading water, as he spins. She smells like the salt water, cotton and expensive perfume. He gently sets her down, and she spins as he holds her in position, and they encircle each other, a river always in movement and they run.

He remembers them running across the hot sand when they were children, feet burning as they raced to the waves. Their hair had been more red back then, brows thick and unplugged, skin unscarred.

He grabs her leg, and she jumps. Her legs swing up in position on his shoulder and she holds his thigh, as he lifts their weight. Slowly he lets her down again (and again and again), and she gracefully half-falls, half-climbs down his body, making it seem like a slow drop. He keeps his legs steady as he keeps holding her thigh, and she stays in his arms in bridal style. He steps sideways and oddly enough that’s what makes his ankle twist again.

He falls down and she falls with him, yelping as they roll unto the floor.  

They settle, and Lance thinks he might’ve bitten his lip because it’s bleeding. Her leg is still in his hand, and they’re staring at each other for a moment.

“I can’t go,” Lance whispers. “Not without you.”

And everything about Lola brightens. “Then take me with you.”

Lance feels himself crack a smile. “Okay.”

She grins and they start laughing. Abruptly they get up, and Lola throws herself in his arms.

“That’s cute and everything,” Pidge says behind them. “But have you considered if Allura or Shiro have anything to say to that?”

Lance and Lola turn, having completely forgotten about Pidge.

“I’ll take care of Allura,” Lola says, looking at Lance. “You take care of your boyfriend.”

“What about Mama and Papa?”

“They’ll understand.”

\-----

That evening they all gather to eat. Hunk’s hair is wavy with saltwater, Shiro’s neck is brown from standing in the sun all day and Pidge has that blurry look in their eyes because of all their time on the computer.

“Mama, papa,” Lance says, his voice shaking and Lola takes his hand underneath the table. “I… I wanna talk to you about what will happen after we’ve taken care of the people that’s following us.”

Mama looks up, and as she looks at them, he knows that she knows.

“Just be careful out there,” she simply says. “Lola may be strong, but she’s inexperienced.”

His dad sighs, rubbing his brow. “I guess I should’ve guessed this would happen.”

“Are we missing something?” Shiro asks alerted.

“Lola is coming with us when we leave,” Lance says.

“What?” Shiro exclaims.

“It’s not up for debate,” Lola defiantly tells him.

“Hell yeah it is!” Keith snaps. “Lance, she’s just a girl!”

“And I was just a boy, Keith!” Lance shouts back. “She has the black belt in karate, kick-boxes, and is all around better prepared than I ever was.”

Keith is taken aback by Lance’s response, and for a second it’s quiet.

“Besides,” Lola says. “Blue likes me. She thinks I’m cute.”

“When have you –“

“Because they’re telepathically bonded,” Pidge interrupts Allura. “Aren’t you?”

Both Lola and Lance stiffens. Their mom stands up and goes to do the dishes.

“Lola got a bruise at the shoot this afternoon,” Pidge continues. “You have one too. You twisted your ankle during dancing practice. Now she’s limping too. And most of all,” they pause, looking Lola in the eyes, “you got an unexplained heart attack the day, kidney failure, even burns.”

“Who told you that?” Lola asks, sounding relaxed, but Lance knows better.

“I was going through you and your family’s journal to hide unexplainable details that might give your kind away,” Pidge answers. “I realized it was the day Lance was caught up in the explosion. And then your burns just mysteriously healed with no scarring, much faster than any doctor could understand. Which implies Lance healing in the pod.”

Lance swallows and Lola leans back in the chair.

“But most of all,” Pidge sighs. “Lance was miserable in space, and you were miserable on Earth. If you’re able to talk to Blue, it means that the bond the two of you share is affected by Blue’s quintessence and separating the two of you might not be worth it.”

“Lance,” Shiro says. “Is this true?”

Lance clenches Lola’s hand in his. “I… honestly didn’t think the bond went to that extent,” he disclaims. “But it does explain quite a few things.”

“But you always knew?” Shiro asks.

“Yeah,” Lance says. “I always knew. It’s hard not to when I can communicate with Lola in a way I can’t with my other siblings.”

“Can you, like, send images to each other?” Hunk hesitantly asks.

“No,” Lance says, looking at her.

“Sometimes I dreamt of the Garrison,” Lola slowly admits. “But I always thought it was because he sent me so many snaps that I got an idea of how everything looked. I think I dreamt of Allura sometimes, though.”

Allura straightens. “How so?”

Slowly, Lola shrugs. “It was mostly glimpses. How your hair looks under blue lighting. Your eyes.”

Shiro and Allura look at each other.

“We could use this as our advantage,” Pidge speaks up. “I mean, think of the possibilities. How many times haven’t we been cut off from the Castle? How many times has Coran needed backup at the Castle? If we could learn how to train their abilities into exchanging pictures or be able to communicate in a possible hostage situation?”

Lance looks at them in surprise, silently touched at their efforts.

“I don’t see the harm either,” Hunk adds. “We clearly need people we can trust in the Castle, and I know Lola is really good at fighting. And if it hurts Lance to separate him from her, it could weaken Voltron. Most importantly, she wants to go voluntarily.”

“What of the backside of that coin?” Keith says, but he doesn’t look mean, only pondering. “If he gets hurt in Voltron? If she is hurt? If either of them dies? Because let’s face it, fighting the Galra is a dangerous job.”

“If the Galra kills her – “

“If the Galra kills him – “

Lola and Lance pause as they realize their talking in choir, before they continue: “We won’t stop until they’re dead. And whether you condone that or not, is not going to matter.”

“Scary,” Hunk immediately comments, pointing at them. “Don’t ever do that again.”

Lance smiles.

“It seems like there are consequences no matter what decision we make,” Allura continues. “I… wouldn’t mind another person in the Castle. If Hunk and Pidge don’t mind either…” She looks at Keith, Coran and Shiro.

“I’m worried,” Keith says, looking from Allura and Lance. “I’m afraid Lance won’t be able to shake it if she gets hurt. But… It can’t continue like it is right now, either. I don’t want Lance to be miserable. I think it’s worth the risk.”

Shiro sighs. “Then I guess it’s settled.” He smiles hesitantly at Lola. “But it’s going to be rough out there. The Galra have done some real harm, and we can’t always fix it. And that’s going to be the hardest part.”

Lola nods. “I will learn.”

“Coran?” Allura asks.

Coran frowns. “Well, will Lola be number three or number four?” he asks, squinting at them. “I can’t tell.”

They laugh, and Allura rolls her eyes in good nature.

Lola turns and grins at Lance, and Lance grins back, leaning in to wrap his arms around her shoulders. She leans in too, hair getting into his face and they laugh.

“It also means that you are joining training,” Shiro says, looking at them with warm eyes. “But if you’re an experienced fighter, I bet you will do better than certain Paladins did at first.”

“Rude,” Hunk acknowledges.

\----

How Shiro and Keith act and their opinions as Paladins do not screw with Lance’s opinion of them as a lover, okay? That evening, he just loves a little more than usually, so excuse you for assuming such wrong things about him.

It’s just that he needs to do his skincare routine while Shiro is showering, and that’s solely because walking back and forth through the bedroom might wake them children.

Shiro hears him come in but ignores him. He’s rubbing the color bomb into his hair, dyeing the white strip of hair green and so Lance has the perfect opportunity to lock the door, take off his robe and sneak over to the bathtub. It’s pretty big, probably because Lance’s parents had always been in preference of just hosing their children down, all at one time, rather than bathing them one by one.

Shiro hears the shower curtain being removed, and tenses, rinsing the color bomb a little quicker and the paranoia shouldn’t make Lance giggle, but it does. He sits on the bathtub corner and waits, quietly admiring the way Shiro’s body becomes tight with tension, the little trail of hair on his abdomen, and veined arm.

Only when Shiro is able to open his eyes, does Lance smile up at him. Shiro sighs with relief, even though he probably knew that it was Lance all along. Lance cups Shiro’s knee, and pulls him closer.

“Come here, big boy,” Lance says. “I feel like only Keith has been getting my love these days.”

“Did you know one in three accidents in the house happens in the bathroom?” Shiro asks instead.

“Stop thinking,” Lance says.

“Get up here and make me,” Shiro challenges.

Lance stands up, making sure to touch Shiro as much as he can on the way up. He wraps his arms around Shiro’s neck, and he’s tense as hell, but his hands on Lance’s back are strong as they pull Lance closer.

Lance tilts his head, touching Shiro’s lips with his own. Shiro feels so hot against Lance, so hot it makes Lance’s breath hitch. Shiro kisses slow, so very different from Keith. Kissing him is like opening a bud. You had to be gentle, soft even. It takes patience to get off all the layers without accidently ripping a petal.

But once it happens, Shiro is the one to open Lance’s mouth with his tongue, the one to pull Lance in even harder. Lance sighs through his nose, and that’s apparently Shiro’s cue to move down to his jaw. Lance’s hands glide down from Shiro’s neck down his back, eventually stopping to squeeze Shiro’s ass cheeks in his hands.

Shiro nips Lance’s neck in response, and Lance grins.

“Lemme suck you,” he whispers. “I wanna feel you.”

Shiro hums, and Lance waits for consent, until Shiro eventually puts his hands on Lance’s shoulders, pushing him down on his knees.

Lance grins up at him once down there, and without moving his hands, he uses his lips to coax its half-hard state into a hard one. It jumps in interest, and Lance turns his kisses into soft licks, starting at the root of Shiro’s dick and moving down to his head. By that time Shiro has fully hardened and Lance picks him up with his mouth, slowly sucking the tip to not overwhelm Shiro. Shiro is breathing quickly through his nose, and Lance closes his eyes, focusing on the taste of Shiro’s precum on his tongue, the feeling of hard flesh in-between his lips, the feeling Shiro’s hips slowly starting to thrust in Lance’s hands. Lance merely lets Shiro set the pace, trying to provide suction without biting.

Lance knows Shiro is close when his balls start to tighten, and is therefore ready for the salty taste of his cum. Not wanting to plug the draining, Lance swallows and only stops when Shiro’s knees are shaking.

Shiro lets go of Lance’s hair with a deep exhalation, and Lance grins, standing up to pull Shiro into a kiss.

Shiro reaches out for Lance’s dick, and Lance politely pushes his hand away.

“I don’t want to cum right now,” Lance whispers. “I just want to feel you.”

And Shiro smiles back at him, and Lance finds that he doesn’t miss the stars at all.


	10. Smell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> who is the idiot who starts more projects than she can finish? me.

Shiro doesn’t sleep that night. He keeps tossing and turning, and when Carlos wakes up because he has to pee, Shiro follows him to the bathroom without complaint. Lance stays awake to listen for their return, but when they eventually do return they do, Shiro doesn’t get back into bed.

“Where are you going?” Lance whispers.

“I’m just doing a parameter check,” Shiro informs. “Go back to sleep, it won’t be long.”

“Okay,” Lance agrees, and falls asleep again. Twenty minutes later, Keith wakes up and asks about Shiro, and Lance passes on the information. But Keith can’t sleep properly after that, and honestly neither can Lance. At some point he walks to the window to look outside. The beach is wide around the house, and Lance can see Shiro’s sole figure in the sand, staring out at the water.

“Why is he not coming back?” Keith drowsily asks from Sophia’s bed. When Lance turns to look at him, Keith is sitting up, wide awake.

“I don’t know,” Lance replies. He looks at his phone, but Shiro hasn’t tried to contact them. “You should go check on him.”

Keith stands up. “You’ll be alright here, right?”

“Yeah, Hunk is here if anything should happen,” Lance says. “Go get our boy.”

Keith puts on his jacket, and after a few minutes, Lance can see his figure nearing Shiro’s on the beach. He gives Shiro a hug, and Lance can see Shiro’s neck bow in something like either exhaustion or hopelessness.

He waits as Keith and Shiro have a conversation Lance can’t hear, but eventually they get back into the house. They bring sand and dark looks, and wordlessly Lance goes to Shiro’s mattress. Carlos whines a little bit as Lance moves him to the bed he had been sleeping on, and wordlessly Keith and Lance take his spot, spooning Shiro in-between them.

“Do you want me to sing?” Lance asks.

Shiro hesitates, before he whispers: “Yeah. If you want.”

“ _Don’t you worry there, my honey,_

_we might not have any money,_

_but we got our love to pay the bills._

_Maybe I think you’re cute and funny,_

_maybe I wanna do what bunnies do,_

_with you, if you know what I mean._

_Oh, let’s get rich and buy our parents homes in the south of France._

_Let’s get rich and give everybody nice sweaters_

_and teach them how to dance._

_Let’s get rich and build a house on a mountain,_

_making everybody look like ants._

_From way up there. You and I. You and I_.”

At the end of the chorus, they’re both asleep.

\-----

The following morning, they start the day with a few tamales and guarapo frio, before going to the studio to start their morning training, despite how Lance loudly tries to get out of it by complaining about his sprained ankle. Allura and Lola don’t show up until ten minutes into the warm-up routine, and they arrive with a scent that’s hard to mistake.

Allura’s poker face is spot on, but everybody can tell she’s tense anyway. Lance wonders if the others can guess why as quickly as Lance can. Lola, though, is her same old joyful self, and despite her empty stomach, she jumps into warm up right away.

Lance doesn’t talk to her besides the obligatory greeting and the occasional shared glance. When it’s time for the actual sparring, Shiro teams them up. Keith and Lola, Allura and Hunk, and Lance and Pidge. Lance is tempted to not focus on Pidge while sparring, but after two years of training he knows Pidge is a sneaky and slippery motherfucker, and he refuses to underestimate them.

“Thank you for the support, by the way,” Lance heaves, narrowly avoiding a kick to the stomach.

“I didn’t do it for your sake only, you know,” Pidge breathes. “Stand still so I can kick you.”

“Then for who’s sake did you do it?” Lance asks, diverging their fist and slipping away from his compromising potion before they can reciprocate.

“The team’s,” Pidge answered, and Lance feels a treacherous swipe of their leg, masked by projected lunge, and he falls onto the floor, hip first. He groans, the back of his head throbbing with pain, and Pidge grins victoriously down at him, until a yell is heard and they look away from him,

Lance sits up and follows their eyes. Hunk and Allura have apparently finished sparring as well, because they’re also looking at Keith and Lola trying to absolutely rip each other to pieces.

To be honest, Lance has never seen Keith fight this way with anyone but Shiro, but even then, Keith never fought with the viciousness he has now. His movements are quick and sharp, his face pinched as sweat starts to trail down his forehead. His cheekbone is darkening into a deep violet, and there’s a bruise on his neck already.

Lola doesn’t seem half as aggressive as Keith, even though her movements are just as quick, but they bear an obvious weightlessness, a certain mindlessness that doesn’t match with her complicated parry-and-attack techniques. But where Lola would’ve once enjoyed such an even match and thrived in the challenge of it, her heart beats hard with annoyance and her mind is stressed and domineering. Something is awfully wrong here.

They all watch the fight quietly, like they do every time they’re watching each other spar, but Lance can feel his heartbeat quickening, his palms going sweaty. Why is Lola upset? Why does this fight mean so much to her? Why does Keith look so angry as well? Isn’t this just a sparring match?

Lola throws a fatal kick, that lands Keith on the floor, but he doesn’t go down without her. They roll for a while, and where Keith is performing differing wrestling moves, Lola is all but stabbing Keith in the eyes. She finally gets on top of him, straddling him with her arms, holding Keith’s wrist down and Keith growls.

And finally Lance realizes what’s going on. They’re not play-fighting. They’re battling for territory, feeling threatened by each other.

Keith slams his forehead into Lola’s face, and Lance cries out as blood spurts out of her nose.

The cry makes them both still, and Lance can feel phantom pain in his nose, his eyes blurring. The scent of blood is thick in the air, awakening all of Lance’s instincts seemingly at once. Blood is a giveaway, is a move that attracts predator. No ally would ever do anything as stupid. No lover would make Lance’s family member bleed, expose them to such dangers.

But then Keith’s worried scent fills the air, and Lance blinks quickly, surfacing from the waves of instincts that had temporally fogged his mind.

Then the door is torn open, and Lance’s dad and uncle come inside.

“Why is…?” his Dad asks, looking at Keith and then Lola, who’s still bleeding from her nose. His eyes are wide and temporally paled into a bright hazel. Lance can smell his stress and his worry, and he quickly walks towards them.

“It wasn’t on purpose,” Lance hurries to say. “Keith doesn’t know, I’ll explain to him. Please just go for now, you’ll make it worse.”

They do as he says, and when he turns around, Lola has gotten off Keith and is wiping her nose, and Keith is staring at Lance and the door with frightened eyes.

“What’s going on?” he asks.

Lance sighs. “Uh, we probably should’ve told you this beforehand, but please don’t ever make a Mer bleed in proximity of either the water or the rest of their clan. It’s, uh, it’s like signaling that you want them to die. Blood attracts predators in the water, remember?”

Keith looks surprised, but not that much. He maybe didn’t consciously know, but Lance thinks his instincts had an idea of what drawing blood would do.

“Sorry,” he still says, looking at Lola.

Lola shrugs. “It’s okay. It was fun while it lasted,” she lies.

Lance looks back and forth at them, starting to sense something odd in the air.

“I’m pleasantly surprised about your skill level,” Shiro interrupts the tense silence. “Lance wasn’t exaggerating.”

Lance scoffs indignantly, and Lola smiles. She should fix her teeth soon, they’re starting to look a little sharp.

“Thank you,” she says. “I can feel I’m a bit out of shape though.”

Lance rolls his eyes, and Shiro smiles indulgingly. Lance knows Lola’s fighting skill is good news to him, considering how Hunk, Lance and Pidge still aren’t their best at self-defense when it comes to hand-to-hand. Well. Hunk and Pidge have become better. It’s only Lance who stalls them, like always.

Lola frowns and looks at Lance. Lance quickly looks away.

“I never saw you fight, bro,” she smiles. “How did you do against Pidge? I think I felt the sensation of falling.”

“More like slamming into the floor.” Lance smiles back. “Pidge is stronger than they look.”

“I’m not surprised,” Lola answers, slowly crooking her head at the hacker.

The worry still smolders in his stomach, and she goes to stand beside him, stroking his arm in comfort. Lance bites his lip.

“Lola and Lance,” Shiro says. “I would like to see you two sparring together.”

Lance looks at Shiro in surprise. “Babe, I know you think I’m awesome at everything I do, but Lola is, like, far awesomer. In a painful way.”

“Awesomer isn’t a word,” Pidge butts in.

“It’s not to compare your skill levels,” Shiro assures.

“It’s pointless,” Lola still complains, even as she leads him away from the group. “We can predict each other’s moves.”

“Can we use our powers?” Lance nervously asks.

Shiro lifts a brow. “As far as I understood it, your song doesn’t work against other Mer.”

“They’re stronger than us,” Hunk pipes up. “They have to be. Me and Pidge saw them beat a steel submarine with their fists, and it actually dented.”

“Their muscle density is much stronger than ours to withstand the pressure from the depths they dive into,” Pidge explains. “Though I don’t feel like I’ve ever seen Lance be able to do that, even when it would’ve helpful to do so.”

“That’s because I can’t do it on command, and especially not in my human form,” Lance sulks. “But Lola can. So she could cheat during dancing practice, might I add.”

Lola smirks, and whips her hair back. “Technically, we have the same muscle strength, Lance,” she says. “And you can lift me just fine.”

Lance makes a stupid face at her, and abruptly senses an abrupt lunge. He swirls to the side, but she senses his diversion, and for a while it continues like that, parrying and avoiding compromising positions, them figuring out each other’s moves before they even show it, Lola taking the offensive role while Lance takes the defensive one (also as always).

The team watches them without commenting, until Shiro eventually calls it quits, his brows raised.

“Your hand-to-hand combat has just…” Shiro mumbles while looking at Lance, before shaking his head. “Alright. Allura, I need you to take on Lance and Lola at the same time.”

“No,” Lance immediately rejects.

“Why?” Shiro says.

“Because I don’t want to,” Lance answers, a little upset.

Lola rolls his eyes. “It would remind him too much of a hunt. We attack in groups, remember?”

“I can assure you, I will take no offence,” Allura says.

“I don’t want to,” Lance withstands.

“Is it because she’s a girl?” Lola asks.

“It’s because she’s my friend!” Lance snaps.

“You really sound sure you’re going to hurt me,” Allura dryly remarks.

Lola lifts a brow, meeting Lance’s eyes. “You always did hate to hunt,” she remarks, and steps forwards, putting a hand on Lance’s cheek. “I would never hurt her, you know.”

They meet each other’s eyes for a hot minute, feelings conveyed too quickly for Lance to consciously keep up with them, but eventually she calms him down.

Lola wins the battle of wills, and wordlessly they get into position, and the rest of Voltron backs away. There’s a split second where he feels Lola trying to get into his wavelength, their senses synchronizing, but before they can finish blurring together they always did while hunting, Allura attacks. She’s going for Lola, knowing that Lola’s defense is weakest and Lance’s reflexes are slow, but that’s when everything is turned upside down; when what only happens during a hunt happens during sparring.

Lance becomes the attacker.

He hears a surprised gasp when Lance tackles her, going for her knees and sees Allura swipe for him even though his eyes are on the floor, and he throws his body over the lunge. Lola gets Allura’s head into a head lock, her legs lifting off the ground when Allura makes to rip her off, but she is soon distracted by Lance’s hands coming up, and –

Allura lands on the floor, Lola grabs her hair and Lance moves to grab his knife, and he realizes –

He stumbles back, revulsion and sick clenching his stomach, and he feels Lola get dizzy with it too, enough for her to jump backwards.

“Lance!” Lola shouts, and Lance blinks quickly a few times, his heart beating quickly in his chest. For a moment there, for a hot god damn heartbeat, he would’ve –

This is why he hated hand-to-hand, why he loves his gun; being a sniper takes you away from the smell of fear and blood, takes the edge of the rush when killing, stops making the cut feel so satisfying, like completion, and he doesn’t dare to wonder what would have happened if he had had a knife on him, would he have time to stop himself –

He feels warm arms around him, and he realizes he has been holding his breath to keep out the smell, but now all he smells is Keith, all smoke and sweat, all earthy pheromones and tanning skin. He closes his eyes, pressing his face into Keith’s T-shirt.

 “What just happened?” Shiro lowly asks.

He can feel rather than hear Lola’s irritation. “I told you, he hates to hunt,” she replies. “Taking in all the sensations awakes a certain kind of instincts that he hasn’t learned to control yet.”

“Just because I didn’t beat up every bully at school,” Lance huffs, trying to laugh but it comes out wet.

“I don’t like fighting,” Lance groans. “Can’t I just stay the best sniper in the entire universe?”

Lola nears Lance, but before she can step forwards, Keith growls.

Lance is getting real worried, when Pidge’s phone beeps, and after a few tense seconds, they say: “I think we just found a way to save your family.”


	11. Lance wins

“So, what you’re saying is that we basically just expose this, and it will go away on its own?” Lola asks, the bag of ice on her nose making her voice sound muffled.

“No,” Pidge says. “I’m suggesting, that if we expose this issue, the board will catch suspicion and hopefully the douchebags that are hunting you will get their budget cut off. Think about it. Their submarines, radars, their research, all of that is possible because they’re a heavily funded research team. If we expose that the research leader has falsified evidence in the past, the government is going to doubt any of the evidence they’ve had so far, and if Dad’s experience has taught me anything, it’s that nothing will put down scientific discovery quicker than being defunded.”

“Except, scientists are a little,” Shiro says, pinching his fingers together, “just a little bit weird and nothing rarely kills their curiosity.”

“Yes, but if they show up here after having lost their warrant, they won’t have the law on their side anymore,” Pidge says. “They’ll be showing up as civilians. If they show up as civilians and coincidentally disappear after having gone hunting after your lovely pale deep-sea family, it won’t be the government’s responsibility to find them or seek justice for them.”

“It would still be a trail,” Allura says.

“There will always be trails,” Lance’s father butts in. “There has been for hundreds of years now, and we’ve learned to deal with the suspicion. But if they can no longer comb the waters, stalk us and their evidence is deemed tampered with time will take care of the rest.”

Lance looks at his other family members, and none of them seem to disagree.

Then Pidge looks at Shiro. “Should I send in the tip?”

Shiro looks at Allura, who nods and with a few taps on the keyboard, the tip with the evidence is sent to the research center’s department leader.

“How long will it take?” Lance’s mother asks.

“For the hint to get to the department leader? No more than a few days, if everything goes according to plan,” Pidge tells her. The translation system is really kicking in.

She sighs, and her shoulders drop. Lance hadn’t even noticed they had been up high for so long. “I’m going to go make dinner,” she announces.

“You need help?” Lance asks, eager to get away from Shiro’s worried frown. He hates knowing that the line on his lover’s forehead are getting worse because of him and his problems. Keith told Lance that Shiro is feeling restless, worried about the war still going on. The leader didn’t directly say he was feeling trapped on Earth, but Lance isn’t too blind to notice that that’s probably what’s going on.

“No,” his mother says, and Lance knows she’s lying because she always needs help, which probably means she senses something is wrong and she needs him to suck it up and fix it.

“I’m going to pack my things,” Lola says, and stands up. “Maybe you can help me transport them to the Castle, Princess?”

“Oh, surely,” Allura says, not fucking fooling anybody, and as she goes, Lance’s family disperses as well.

“What was that?” Shiro asks, looking at Keith.

Keith crosses his arms. “I don’t like the way she looks at me when I touch Lance.”

Lance sighs, and Keith’s arms immediately fall down and a look of guilt draws together his eyebrows.

“I’m sorry, that came out wrong,” he quickly says.

“No, don’t try to hide it,” Lance says, massaging his nose bridge. “You’re the most instinct-driven on the team, and Lola is both flirting with what you consider a family member and is threatening your ownership of me.”

Keith sputters. “I don’t think I’m your – “

“Your body does,” Lance interrupts. “I’m just hoping that both you and her can ignore your instinct to mark your territory. I really think the two of you would like each other if you did.” The last sentence comes out pleading.

Keith sighs, but he looks guilty. “Right. I’m sorry. I’ll try harder.”

“I’ll talk to Lola as well,” Lance says.

When Lance looks at Shiro, the leader doesn’t look any less worried than before.

“I will talk to the Princess,” Shiro thoughtfully says. “If Lola is going to live and fight with us, she needs to stop and think her actions through, before … engaging in rather new relationships.”

Lance doesn’t have much to add to that. It’s hypocritical, in many ways, for Shiro to make judgements on Allura when the three of them started a relationship without asking anybody first. However, the three of them had known each other for a while, and they didn’t enter the relationship without considerations. Allura and Lola’s relationship is so new though and has a purely sexual nature and that might make things complicated. Undoubtedly Allura already knows this, so perhaps she wouldn’t have started it at all had she known that Lola was coming with them. 

“What happened back there?” Shiro softly asks, turning to look at Lance.

His skin prickles, and Lance turns away his face.

In the end it’s Hunk that takes pity on him and speculates out loud: “Fighting with Lola makes you a rad fighter, but also reinforces instincts to kill. But where Lola has been doing hand-to-hand combat for years and have learned to control the urge, you haven’t and it becomes overwhelming?”

Lance clenches his teeth. “It’s not only with Lola. It’s always. It just gets worse when she’s there.”

“We’ll keep training – “ Shiro reassuringly starts.

“Why?” Lance asks, voice cracking. “Me and Lola will only fight the bad guys, whom we don’t care if they die.”

“You know it isn’t always that simple,” Shiro says, and Lance’s shoulders fall.

“I know,” he admits.

\----

A few days pass, and the submarine leaves their waters. Pidge’s seed grows into a full-blown scandal, and while tanning and eating, the team observes the whole Mer-project fall apart from afar. It’s odd to win without actually having done anything, and in the meanwhile Shiro gets lots of naps, Lola and Keith grudgingly bury their previous conflict, and Hunk learns about 80% of Lance’s grandma’s recipes.

Lance is on Lola’s phone, watching something stupid on her Facebook feed, when Lola turns around and lifts her arms.

“What do you think?” she asks.

He squints at her hot pink bikini. It’s a triangle bra with side-tie panties, which means she’s really going all out. “I thought you didn’t like pink?” he asks.

She turns to look in the full-body mirror, twisting and posing. “No, but the Princess does. I’m going to teach her how to swim.”

Lance makes a face. “Please don’t do what I think the two of you were doing in the pool yesterday.”

“No, we’re going to swim in the water with the children this time,” she answers, like having sex in the family swimming pool is no big deal. “Actually, most of us will be in the water. It’s gonna be the first day where those fucking humans are leaving us alone. Mom says we need to visit out deep-sea relatives to inform them of the changes when we can.”

“Oh,” Lance says, a little sad. A few neighbors saw him the other day, and since then he has been prohibited from swimming. Because his mother raises no son to just laze around all day, he has been put on dessert duty, which means no swimming. Not that he really wants to, having been stuck in the water for a week, but he really does wish his family would stay home with him. Why is he always so needy?

“ _But_ , your boyfriend has to stay home because of all that burning in the sun thing,” she continues, a little sly. “And we all know your other boyfriend will probably be taking a nap by the time we go.”

“So?” Lance asks, still not getting it.

“ _So_ , if Pidge, Allura and Hunk are helping Coran set up the Castle, they’ll be guarding the house with you, just to be sure nothing happens, right?” she continues.

Lance is starting to understand. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” she says meaningfully. “We’re all a little tired of smelling your boyfriend’s boner.”

“Please don’t ever tell Keith that you’re all able to smell that,” Lance begs.

“Then you can’t tell mom I had sex with Allura in the pool.”

“Deal.”

\----

 Later, when Allura and the Paladins are on the Castle and Lance’s family is safe in the deep waters, Lance wraps up the desserts and puts them in the fridge. Keith is probably training in the studio, and Shiro is, as Lola predicted, napping but if he orchestrates this right…

He ends up not even having to fetch Keith. Lance hears the shower being on, and without knocking, he lets himself inside.

“Who – Lance!” Keith yelps, as he sees Lance close the door behind him.

Keith’s face is unusually red though, his tan lines are stark contrast against his porcelain skin and slowly Lance can’t help but grin when he sees that Small Keith has made an appearance.

“What are you doing?” Keith still hisses as Lance steps into the shower.

Lance shushes him as he giggles and gets on his knees. After that, Keith doesn’t do much but grunt and groan as Lance swallows him down. Fingers quickly come up to tug at Lance’s hair, and he hums, making Keith jerk his hips. Keith must have been working himself up really hard before Lance arrived, because it isn’t long before he starts pounding into Lance’s mouth, keeping Lance’s head locked into position and Lance surprisingly enough loves the way Keith so blatantly just uses him like that. The weight of Keith’s cock is reassuring, hot and salty, and even though Lance’s eyes are watering, his head starting to hurt with the force of Keith’s thrusts, he doesn’t move away from Keith’s tight grasp, only moving when Keith slams in particularly hard and his head starts to slip away from Keith’s hands.

“Lance,” Keith whimpers, looking down at him with dark eyes, before closing them and coming down Lance’s throat. Lance can’t keep his eyes open at this point, his head limp in Keith’s hands, until he feels the swelling in his mouth and hurriedly he pulls away, not wanting to get Keith’s knot locked into his mouth.

Keith lets him go but keeps watching him as Lance wipes away drool from his mouth.

He’s achingly hard, and Keith pulls him up and draws him into a hot kiss, his hands tight around Lance’s waist, but Lance wants to finish this in the bedroom, so he steps out of the tub.

Keith doesn’t follow him immediately. Only when Lance wanders out, completely naked, does Keith follow, hurriedly gathering Lance’s clothes on the way out.

He catches up with Lance in the bedroom, where Shiro is blessedly still sleeping. Lance throws himself onto the nearest bed, his damp skin creating dark spots on the linen as Keith drops the pile of clothes and retrieves a bottle of lube. He throws himself on top of Lance, and giggling they roll around in bed for a while, playfighting to get on top until finally Keith distracts him with a hand around his cock.

“How long do you think you can last without coming?” Keith asks with a raised eyebrow.

It’s a challenge. Well concealed, but a challenge nonetheless and Lance could never resist a challenge. “Try me, Mullet.”

Keith smiles triumphantly, probably because Lance played right into his hands, and inserts two fingers. The sting is not surprising, but still uncomfortable. Lance has to close his eyes, and Keith silently presses small, wet kisses from Lance’s jaw down his neck and finally at his chest. Lance gasps as Keith breathes onto his nipple, and jerks with surprise as Keith starts scissoring his fingers.

“Keith,” Lance whispers.

“Yeah?” Keith answers, but Lance can’t continue his thought, can only bite his lip as Keith sucks his nipple into his mouth and he withdraws his fingers, only to push in again with three. Lance gasps, arching in Keith’s hold, his cock dripping onto his stomach and he twists, moving with Keith’s movements.

“Keith,” Lance says a little more urgently and Keith smirks and shushes him.

“You’ll wake Shiro up,” Keith warns.

With that he starts a punishing pace, and Lance clenches the covers in his fists, feeling his body giving away, giving up, giving in. Relenting, falling, bending, skidding. His instincts are flaring, again, making the world sharper, making the colors throb in an almost overwhelming way. He closes his eyes, but the weird scent is returning, hot and musky, filling up his nose.

His heart is pounding by the time Keith is turning him around. Feeling ridiculously dizzy Lance forces himself to get on his fours and stay there, resting his shoulders and face unto the covers as Keith raises his hips.

As he mounts Lance, the scent becomes stronger and Lance realizes that it must be coming from Keith. It makes Lance’s blood sing, while it also makes his hackles rise, and he is so caught up on these sensations that he misses the way Keith is lining up, until he feels the other push inside. Once again Lance clenches the covers that smell of salt and sweat and sleep and between his instincts that are telling him to stop and his heart that is telling him to go on, he feels like he’s drowning.

Keith growls and his hands come down and their fingers knot together. Lance is breathing harshly, far louder than he normally would.

“Lance?” Keith is huskily whispering and Lance feels himself push back, only to be stopped too soon by the still inflated knot.

Keith’s grip on his hands are too tight, and it’s so hot in here. Keith is pressing a kiss onto the top of his head, and that isn’t right, Keith should only be reaching his neck in this position and as Lance blinks sweat out of his eyes, he sees the tint of purple on Keith’s skin.

“What are the two of you doing?” Shiro’s groggy voice asks, just as Keith slams in his hips, and Lance cries out as the knot tries to force itself inside.

“Keith?” Shiro asks, but his voice is wary, and when Lance opens his eyes again, Keith’s hands are definitely purple and his fingernails have definitely become claws and his body is definitely way bigger on top of him than it started out being –

Keith pulls out and pushes in again, and Lance moans, distraught but trusting. He turns his face to look at Shiro, who is sitting up and wearing a startled expression on his face. His scent starts to fill out to room as well, and it’s too much, it’s so _hot in here_ , and Keith just keeps going, his arms seeming huge framing Lance’s shoulders and arms.

“It’s – _nngh_ \- ” Lance cries, just as Keith pulls back and slams inside again, like he’s unable to protect himself.

Keith sniffs his hair, pulling out and in again, rolling his hips in a slow but hard pace, and Lance can feel sweat drip into his eyes, a desire from deep within.

Keith picks up the pace, and Lance jolts every time their skin slaps together, but Shiro’s scent is only becoming deeper and more distressed, and Lance hisses, watching scales appear on his skin and that’s it, his entire body ripples underneath Keith’s weight and even though Keith felt so unbelievably heavy and strong on top of him a second ago, he now flies of Lance and falls off the bed and down the floor.

Lance is on him immediately, hissing as he grabs Keith’s flying fists and holds them down on the floorboard. Keith keeps growling and moving underneath him, but Lance is strong, stronger than he ever thought, but doesn’t even get the bath in the powerfulness of it.

Keith’s eyes glow golden back at him as he growls with pointed fangs, and Lance strokes his cheek once, before tentatively lifting a leg. It gains Keith leverage, but before he gets to act on it, Lance has grabbed his cock again and Keith stills with a groan. The groan quickly turns into a whimper as Lance sinks down. As he does it, he tries to look reassuringly at Shiro, before he realizes this must be looking crazy.

“Sorry,” Lance whispers to Keith, watching his face twist in pleasure as Lance bottoms. “I can’t keep having you – oh – “

Keith slams his hips up, and Lance might have the strength, but he doesn’t have enough limbs to hold Keith down properly, so he decides to go along with it, lifting his hips and rolling them. It takes a minute to find a proper rhythm, but then they are riding on hills, sailing on steep waters, and Lance can tell his grip is bruising Keith’s wrists, but he can really tell how out of it Keith is now, frantic and desperate, trying to nudge his knot inside.

“Come on,” Lance whispers. “Come on, Keith – “

Keith pops inside with a growl, and as soon as Lance lets go of his wrists, Keith’s immediately lunges to hold Lance’s hips down and cums visibly painfully inside Lance.

Lance takes time to study him as he feels the knot throb inside him. Keith is indeed bigger, just as big as Shiro really. His hair, ears and nipples have darkened into a deep violet, but the rest of his skin shares the same color as lilacs, a layer of peach fuzz making his skin shine velour-like.

As Lance can feel his own harsh breaths fading, his own scales smooth and disappears.

“Our poor boy’s all wound up with Galra hormones,” Lance says with a crooked, but worried grin.

“Are… you okay?” Shiro asks. “That looked pretty rough.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Lance says, stroking Keith’s cheek. It feels cold and wet. Keith’s mouth is half-open, his fangs slightly visible, but his eyes stay closed. “I don’t think being here is good for him.”

Shiro sits down beside them, and leans in to kiss Lance’s sweaty cheek, before removing a lock of hair away from Keith’s face. “You think it’s worse than he makes it seem like?”

“Maybe.”

Shiro nods warily and glances down at Lance’s erection. “You want help with that?”

“I’m good,” Lance says. “I want to keep an eye on him while on stuck with him anyway.”

Slowly starting to smile, Shiro leans his face into Lance’s shoulder.

“Are you alright?” Lance asks, turning his head to kiss Shiro on the temple. “It must’ve looked rough.”

“Nah,” Shiro says, yawning again. “I know Lola and Keith are fighting for territory and everything, but at the end of the day, you’re the one who makes us rebound. Every time.”

Keith is mumbling something.

“What?” Lance asks.

“Ooooooofff,” Keith groans, like his long orgasm is causing him a hangover or something.

Later that evening, as they’re lying on the floor together, Keith kisses Lance’s ear and whispers: “He’s right, you know.”

And it’s everything.

Just to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaand that will be it from this series. sorry ive been so slow at completing it, but i hope y'all enjoyed it ^^

**Author's Note:**

> Comments fill the author with delight, and makes her squeal randomly throughout the day. It will also motivate her to update faster.


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